If everything had gone according to plan, Genève-Servette HC would have been playing for four years in a modern and functional venue, however, this is not the case. In fact, a long series of vicissitudes has delayed the submission of a concrete project by several years.
For these delays, as reported by Daniel Visentini on the Tribune de Genève, Denis Vaucher, Director of the National League, recently met with Thierry Apothéloz, a member of the Council of State of Geneva, to inform him of the concerns and also the requirements of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. Even though it is doubtful that the latter would want to exclude Genève-Servette HC from the National League, sanctions are possible.
In the meantime, GSHC is waiting in Les Vernets. As Sami Kanaan, the city's administrative councillor, explains, however, the situation could become critical: "I don't know if the Vernets can still hold like that for several years. Because that's what we're talking about: a horizon for the new ice rink set at seven, eight, even ten years, according to some."
Nonetheless, according to the president of the Grenats, Laurent Strawson, things are finally moving in the right direction: "We hope to finally have a concrete project, centered around the ice rink." It would be a semi-private, semi-public project. Or only public, since the idea of 100% private no longer seems to hold the line.
( 05 November 2019 | lle )
