Ice stadium Biel
| Ice stadium Biel | |
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| Exterior view (2006) | |
| Data | |
| place | Langgasse 71 2504 Biel / Bienne , Switzerland
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| Coordinates | 587 601 / 222 455 |
| owner | City of Biel / Bienne |
| opening | 1973 |
| demolition | 2015 |
| surface |
Concrete artificial ice surface |
| capacity | 7,000 seats (including 3,000 seats) |
| Events | |
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The ice rink Biel was an ice rink in the Swiss city of Biel in the canton of Bern . From 1973 to 2015 it was the home ground of the ice hockey club EHC Biel . There were also other events in and around the stadium, such as games by the Swiss national ice hockey team or the Biel 100 km run .
history
Since the popularity of a new, covered ice rink in Biel increased and the open ice rink and the infrastructure were no longer worthy of a club the size of the EHC Biel , the then President of the EHC Willy Gassmann took the initiative. In the end he succeeded in convincing the electorate of the idea and nothing stood in the way of the start of construction in 1971. The Bözingenfeld, which was a little west of the city, was chosen as the location. Minor delays meant that the stadium could only be opened about three months late and EHC Biel had to stay in exile in Lyss for a little longer . At the start of the second half of the season, 3,000 spectators found their way into the new, ultra-modern stadium and saw a 3: 3 draw against HC Davos .
The stadium celebrated its international premiere on January 20, 1973 with the international match between Switzerland and Romania (2: 3), which was attended by 4,000 spectators. With the success of the EHC, the capacity utilization of the hall also increased, which reached its peak on November 22, 1975 when 9,411 enthusiastic spectators watched the derby of the newcomer against cantonal rivals SC Bern (4: 3). In 1997 the ice rink was allowed to host the famous rap group Wu-Tang Clan . 6,000 spectators attended the concert.
For safety reasons and some minor structural measures, the capacity was gradually reduced to 7,000. As a final structural measure, a two-story VIP lounge was installed in the stadium in 2004, in which the sponsors and donors could watch the games.
Since the stadium was unable to keep up with modern requirements in terms of infrastructure or safety, plans for a new building were drawn up. On December 9, 2007, Biel's electorate supported the construction of new sports stadiums, which were opened under the name Tissot Arena from 2015 : The facility includes three new arenas for football (5,200 seats, expandable to 10,000 seats) and ice hockey (6,521 seats) and curling.
The last official game in Biel's ice rink took place on March 12, 2015 on the occasion of the playoff series against the ZSC Lions . The home team prevailed 3: 1 in front of 6,123 spectators.
gallery
Interior view of the ice stadium Biel (2006)
The ice rink shortly before demolition (March 2015)
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