New usage model in place for FC Basel home

Article posted by Coliseum, May 12^th, 2023

Image: Herzog & de Meuron

The Swiss football club FC Basel 1893 has officially announced that there will be a new usage model in place in their home venue – the St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.

‘BaZ’ stated that the stadium rent will go down, but FC Basel will now be responsible for managing the interior areas of the facility.

Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, Switzerland, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times and Swiss League Cup winners once.

Apply for membership

The 38,512-capacity St. Jakob-Park is a Swiss sports stadium in Basel. It is the largest football venue in Switzerland and home to FC Basel. ‘Joggeli’, as the venue is nicknamed by the locals, was originally built with a capacity of 33,433 seats.

‘BaZ’ further stated that instead of the previous CHF 3.8 million a year, the rent is now only CHF 1.65 million. For the club, given its financial situation, this is a welcome step and much-needed saving. In return, however, the FC Basel will be responsible for maintaining the interior facilities of the stadium.

Maintaining the huge video screens and lighting facilities inside the venue will be the responsibility of the club in the future and will also be paid for by the club. As per sources, the FC Basel has paid five million francs to take over the interior maintenance work of the stadium from the stadium cooperative.

The above is quite a large sum and when it comes to the future renovation work of the arena, the tab will have to be picked up by FC Basel.

The club sent out a message which read, “The above arrangement means that the FC Basel will have to pay less rent – substantial reduction in stadium rent – and will also be in a position to take individual decisions as regarding inviting investments for redecorating the stadium interior.”

However, the above model is only a temporary step. Plans are on the cards to renovate the stadium by 2027 with the tab to be picked up by FC Basel, the stadium cooperative and the cantons of Basel-Stadt (Basel-Stadt or Basel-City is one among the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation) and Basel-Land (one among the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation). Fifteen (15) million will be the contribution from FC Basel and five million from the stadium cooperative side.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue