Turnaround: The Hallenstadion after the ZSC era

In the 2018 financial year, AG Hallenstadion had its best occupancy rate in recent years, with 141 events. But when the last ZSC puck flutters into the net in the Hallenstadion in May 2022, it will have to be repositioned. The ZSC provided 20 percent of the revenue, which in 2018 was around 4 million Swiss francs out of a total revenue of 21.67 million Swiss francs and 303,000 visitors; in comparison, pop concerts attracted only slightly more with 327,000 guests.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Balz Hösly, also a member of the Board of Directors at the MCH Group, spoke of a necessary new business model with three pillars:

The flagship strategy: The Hallenstadion as a flagship (springboard) for Swiss and European artists means: whoever is successful in the Hallenstadion will also be successful in Europe.

The expansion of business tourism in the congress repectively MICE business.

Finally, the provision of a 365-day offer for a new mix of events. This new flexibility, you can host more multi-day events from 2022, are the positive side of the departure of the Zurich skating club ZSC, if you want to call it that. We need more active marketing of our event mix," said Balz Hösly. He also wants to become digital venue leader, at least in the Swiss business. AG Hallenstadion AG will invest 10 to 12 million francs in this, in catering and in VIP zones over the next five years.

Challenge Europe

As a concert hall, the Hallenstadion faces European competition and, with the advent of new arenas in South America, China and the Emirates, even global competition, and that competition is tense. Balz Hösly said that thanks to the "flagship strategy" the Hallenstadion is a well-known brand that cannot be avoided in Switzerland.

Part of the necessary reorientation is a project-related cooperation on a global level with the directly neighboring Messe Zürich and its owner, MCH Group, in the area of live events and congresses, which neither of the two future partners would be able to land on their own. And here, too, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Balz Hösly, wants to make acquisitions on a global level.

Good business year 2018

Is the Hallenstadion doing well or badly? Good. With 141 event days, a top result was achieved. At 966,000, the number of visitors is in line with recent years. Revenues rose to 21.673 million Swiss francs and equity now stands at 22.77 million Swiss francs.

But the event environment is getting tighter. In 2018, the Hallenstadion hosted 15.6 percent more event days, but only 11 percent more guests visited the Zurich arena.

And in 2022? It won't be easy. In the field of live entertainment, there is a constantly increasing oversupply of venues, and we know what that means: erosion of prices.

According to Balz Hösly, the market for business events, the Hallenstadion's big future field after the ZSC moves out, is also in decline.

Transformation: Not a word about crisis

When CEO Felix Frei started at the Hallenstadion twelve years ago, 80 percent of total revenues came from fixed rentals and 20 percent from ticket participation. Today, the ratios are exactly the opposite: only 20 percent of revenues are covered by hall rentals, but 80 percent are dependent on spectator attendance. In plain language: The entrepreneurial risk of AG Hallenstadion AG has increased disproportionately in recent years. CEO Felix Frei speaks of "margin erosion".

What is a new business model? It's quite simple: when ZSC, the biggest customer, moves out of the Hallenstadion into a new ice hockey stadium in 2022 as a cluster risk with a turnover of 4 million francs, creativity is required.

As is often the case, the transformation came about as a result of external pressure. And the management of AG Hallenstadion reacted early. Communication, always an unmistakable sign of the state of mind, the soul of a company, is also exemplary. One drop of bitterness is the departure of the hitherto successful Felix Frei. After twelve years of successful collaboration, he will leave AG Hallenstadion, at the latest after the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championships in Zurich and Lausanne. The new requirement profile of a director/CEO can be found on the webpage of the Hallenstadion.