La Maladière

Dynamic partnership for a new stadium

The La Maladière stadium in Neuchâtel is a prime example of how the public, businesses and sport can cooperate when they have a common purpose. The new football stadium was financed thanks to mixed sport and retail utilisation. The city of Neuchâtel and project initiators, Coop and HRS quickly came to agreement so that it only took two years from planning to granting the building permit. The investors, Swisscanto Investment Fund and the Federal Pension Fund Publica invested in the 220 million franc new build. The city of Neuchâtel provided only the building site. In exchange, the city was granted a new football stadium. Coop, in its function as a retailer and car park owner, invested generously in building the shopping centre. Its location, with excellent links to public and private traffic networks, is ideal and for this reason it also houses a building complex which accommodates public services: six gymnasiums, the central fire brigade and emergency services of the city of Neuchâtel and offices for urban administration. /p>

Seven metres under the lake

The building complex was especially difficult to construct because of its proximity to the lake. Building contractors worked up to seven metres below the water surface in places. Statical measures had to be taken to sustain the pressure. The structure was anchored by a network of over 1,100 micropiles. This solution provided several benefits: the construction phase could be shortened and costs saved. Special attention had to be paid to making the building waterproof. A special cement composition and special grouting were used. As the ventilation and cooling systems could not be installed on the roof, a pump system was installed in the water. The building complex is heated via over-heated water pipes from the local heating system. Solar modules were fitted on the roof, which supply the city of Neuchâtel with electricity.