"The SCB Board of Directors is considering whether the stadium needs to be renovated or newly built," Chairman of the Board of Directors Beat Brechbühl states. While he does not offer any update on the current condition of the PostFinance Arena, Der Bund has heard that the roof needs to be renovated and the building shell sealed.
The focus is, according to the same source, on a possible combination of a new stadium with the Bernexpo event hall project on the site of the old Festhalle. "The SCB is also interested in a multifunctional hall with mixed use of catering, events or even living," Brechbühl said.
Franziska von Weissenfluh, chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Bernexpo, has yet to hear a concrete proposal from the Bears. While she is not against this idea, she also makes clear that at the current planning stage it makes no sense for Bernexpo to delay the event hall project due to "half-baked ideas."
The Mayor of Bern, Alec von Graffenried is also aware of the fact that SC Bern will likely need a new arena, but when asked by Der Bund, he states that he considers a combination of an event hall and new ice stadium to be "unthinkable".
For one, SC Bern would have to align their schedule with Bernexpo, which would likely prove to be very difficult. Also, Bernexpo is, if everything runs smoothly, about a year away from starting the construction process. According to von Graffenried, SC Bern now joining the project would likely set the whole process back five years.
( 17 April 2019 | mso )
