AEG Facilities to operate new ice hockey arena in Lausanne

The AEG Facilities division of sports and entertainment giant AEG has been selected to manage a new ice hockey arena in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The arena broke ground earlier this year and is due to open in the summer of 2019. The city-owned venue will serve as the home of the Lausanne Hockey Club Lions and will also host other sporting events, concerts and family shows.

AEG Facilities will oversee operations and design input while construction work is carried out at the arena. The company’s responsibilities will include hiring and training the venue’s staff, and managing departments such as event operations, security, ticketing, guest services, marketing, public relations, finance, human resources and general event management.

In addition, AEG Facilities will design the overall grand opening plan for the arena, the capacity of which will range from 4,000 to 11,500.

The project will be overseen by Richard Krezwick, senior vice-president at AEG Facilities.

AEG Facilities president Bob Newman said: “This state-of- the-art new arena will be located in one of the most important regions for national and Olympic federations, and we believe will deliver world-class sports competitions and entertainment events that will establish Lausanne as a one of Europe’s busiest gateway markets.

“We are proud to partner with Lausanne Hockey Club, one of the most respected organisations in Europe, to develop an arena that will become a focal point and cultural hub for the city and region.”

AEG Facilities’ portfolio of venues also includes The O2 in London, Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, AccorHotels Arena in Paris, The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Friends Arena, Tela2 Arena and Ericson Globe in Stockholm, and Stadio della Roma, the planned new home of Italian Serie A football club AS Roma.

Image: Fanny Schertzer