Yonex Badminton Zurich: Updates & Status | Hardbrücke

The Yonex Badmintonhalle in Zürcher Kreis 5 is in front of a planned bicycle bridge. It should be demolished. On Wednesday, this was discussed in the municipal council. It doesn’t look very rosy.

It could hardly have been better for the badminton fans in the Zurich town council on Wednesday. The advance for the preservation of the Yonex Badmintonhalle in Zürcher Kreis 5 was transferred to the city council with only 9 votes against 118. Despite the success, the future prospects still look bleak.

The city council now has two years to check the postulate. The population at the urn will decide on the construction of the bridge, which should cost around CHF 80 million. The start of construction is to be expected in 2030 at the earliest, writes the Tagesanzeiger.

In 1997, today’s operators converted the industrial building on Geroldstrasse into a sports hall.Bild: keystone

Velos instead of badminton

It has been known since the beginning of June: instead of the iconic badminton hall on the Gerold area in district 5, a bicycle and pedestrian viaduct is to be built. The Franca Magnani bridge over the track field is to connect circles 4 and 5.

The headwind came rapidly. A petition on the operator’s side is launched. Around 7,000 signatures were collected. SVP and FDP submitted a postulate with the same claim to the responsible city councilor Simone Brander (SP).

The property has always served as a reserve

On Wednesday, Simone Brander speaks of a “happy coincidence” on Wednesday that the hall still exists. The property has always been intended as a reserve area. The civil engineering office had checked whether it would be possible – but came to the conclusion for two reasons that it is not possible: On the one hand, the ramp to the Velo Bridge needs too much space, on the other hand, the site is needed for the construction operation during the four -year construction period – the hall would have to give way anyway.

The Franca Magnani bridge between circles 4 and 5 should look like. Visualization: Swiss Interactive

The ramp is the problem

The Franca Magnani bridge begins between the badminton hall and the railway viaduct. The distance in between is a good ten meters – actually enough space for the ramp, which is about 6.5 meters wide. The first visualizations show exactly this solution.

So that the ramp does not become too steep, the civil engineering office apparently plans a loop. However, this would collide with the rear part of the hall. In the municipal council, Simone Brander explained that the desire for a flatter and wider approach came from the local council himself. “If we now screw around again on this important connection, we would only make it worse.” It may be possible to rebuild the front part of the hall after building bridge, said Brander.

SP weakens postulate

The SP proposed to change the text of the postulate: the hall should only be preserved if this “does not impair the functionality of the bridge”. If this is not possible, a new location for badminton in district 5 should be found. The newspaper writes that the original claim for receiving the hall is weakened.

Pascal Lamprecht (SP) said the SP wanted both the hall and the bridge. “But both together have no space.” The SP supports the popular sport badminton, so the city council should find a solution in the neighborhood – if the space is not enough for both.

The Greens as the only party for adaptation

Postulant Stefan Urech (SVP) reluctantly agrees with the change. He says that he does not trust the argument that the hall was needed as a building site – Simone Brander mentioned that for the first time that evening. Urech emphasizes how important the Yonex hall is for the neighborhood: it offers a easily accessible sports offer and also organizes cultural occasions. The hall contributes to the revitalization of the area. Therefore, the quarters absolutely want to keep them.

The second postulant, Deborah Wettstein (FDP), says it is a shame if a sport is displaced. Smallers from GLP and Al raised how important a central range of sports is. Benedikt Gerth (the middle) questioned whether the additional bike connection was necessary at all.

The Greens were the only party that did not agree with the adapted postulate. «You can’t get the hall if you want to build the bridge. We prefer the bridge. » Markus Knauss emphasized that Zurich urgently needs the Franca Magnani bridge-her planning has been going too long. The Yonex Hall is only because of this delay. (FAK)