Kybunpark E

LOCATION/HISTORY

In accordance with the requirements of the Swiss Football Association, FC St.Gallen needed a new stadium if the club wanted to continue to play in the top-flight league. The stadium also had to conform to international standards.

Initial feasibility studies for the new site in St.Gallen’s industrial and commercial area along the A1 motorway were carried out in October 1998. The starting position was that the city would provide the Breitfeld area to the club free-of-charge, and the construction and operation of the stadium would be undertaken by a private organisation.

HRS Real Estate AG was approached to develop the project and provide support throughout the authorisation process – thanks to its extensive experience. As general contractor, HRS brought a major investor on board and assumed some of the business risks involved itself. HRS also carried out the construction work.

The core idea behind the HRS design was to combine the construction of the stadium with a shopping centre and thereby make optimal use of large areas of the infrastructure, such as storage areas and access routes. The concerns of local residents, environmental organisations and transportation planners were also taken into account. HRS gathered a team of 50 engineers and planners for the project.

In November 1999, the electorate of St.Gallen approved the required re-zoning of the Breitfeld area. In November 2000, contracts were signed with Jelmoli Immobilien AG as an investor. A year later, the first redevelopment plans were submitted. Revisions, modifications and objections meant that planning permission was not officially granted until 22 August 2005. A general increase in prices and stringent security measures – in response to widespread football hooliganism – made it a real challenge to keep within the upper ceiling of the construction costs. Exceeding this threshold would have been a waste of the business plans for cost-covering operations.

CONCEPT

The Kybunpark covers the area between the motorway and Zürcher Strasse. The Jelmoli Shopping Centre with a carpark was integrated into the three-storey base of the stadium. The approx. 30,384 m2 sales area offers space for over 50 stores and restaurants. The top of this base section was converted into a terrace. It stands six meters above street level, and can be accessed via walkways from the Breitfeld area, and from Gründenmoos on the other side of the motorway. Spectators can access the stadium directly from the terrace.

A three-storey office and leisure facility on 10 m-high pillars marks the main entrance to the stadium. The Kybunpark is divided into four separable sections using mobile fencing, and has also been designed as a civil engineering project in a visual sense.

48 exposed steel girders form the supporting structure for the stands and roof. The concrete steps in the stands have been left in their “raw” state. 12 access routes with the necessary infrastructure for carrying out admission checks lead into glazed halls complete with snack stands, toilets and first-aid facilities. Four openings in the curves of the stadium guarantee emergency access for the fire brigade and paramedics. The 20 m-high metal roof protects spectators from the wind and rain.

A two-storey glazed area contains boxes complete with balconies, reception areas and VIP lounges, and dominates the north side of the stadium with its 10 storeys in total. On the ground floor – shielded from the spectators – team coaches, delivery vehicles for catering, TV crews and security services can drive up and park. The media centre and conference room are housed on the mezzanine floor. The work and social areas for security staff, and a police station with interrogation and detention cells, are also located here. The first floor (at pitch level) contains the players' area with operations rooms, changing rooms, showers, a sauna, and medical examination rooms. The residential youth academy is also here. The fourth floor houses various lounges, while the fifth and sixth floors contain four more lounges and 22 boxes. The security centre is based on the sixth floor.

Semi-transparent textile membranes between the edge of the roof and the upper row of seats protect against the weather and glare, and also provide views of the surrounding green hilly landscapes.

FEATURES

The sub-station operated by the St.Gallen power station and the TCS Centre both had to be dismantled to build the stadium. The city of St.Gallen’s infiltration basin with a pumping station for emergency provision was shifted 200 m west, and the supply line redirected from Lake Gübsen. The rainwater collected from the stadium roof (28,000 m2), and the terrace (20,000 m2), is collected and filtered into the building’s own pipes before then being channelled to the water reserves.

The name rights for the stadium passed from Arbonia Forster Holding AG (AFG) to Kybun AG in 2016.