Lucerne voters say yes to the "Pilatus Arena
The population of the city of Lucerne has approved the purchase rights agreement for the Mattenhof II site in Kriens with 63.74 percent votes in favor. They have thus given the green light for further planning of the new "Pilatus Arena" sports and event hall.
"The architectural competition will show whether the hall and an attractive residential use can be realized on the relatively narrow site." Toni Bucher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eberli Sarnen AG and developer of the "Pilatus Arena
"We are delighted with the great result," says Nick Christen, initiator of the "Pilatus Arena" and CEO of HC Kriens-Luzern AG. According to Christen, the new arena in Kriens Mattenhof will be a new type of sports and event hall with national and international appeal by 2019. It will feature state-of-the-art sports and event infrastructure and offer space for 4,000 spectators. According to media reports, the new hall will cost around 30 million Swiss francs.
The next step will be to invite tenders for the architectural competition during the summer. Toni Bucher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eberli Sarnen AG and developer of the "Pilatus Arena", explains: "The architectural competition will show whether the hall and an attractive residential use can be realized on the relatively narrow site. This is a great challenge for the participating teams." The jury for the competition will also include representatives from the city of Lucerne, the municipality of Kriens and the regional development agency LuzernPlus. The new building is also supported by the federal government and the canton of Lucerne, the K5 municipalities, and several sports associations and major event organizers from all over Switzerland.
In the future, the "Pilatus Arena" will host national and international indoor sports such as handball, tennis, soccer, volleyball and basketball. The venue is also to be used for other major sporting events. Concerts, musicals, TV shows, congresses and conferences will also be held there, and an important infrastructural gap will be closed - for schools, university sports, local clubs and the promotion of young talent, according to the initiators. (mr)
