- The Lucerne city government is discontinuing the reversion process for the Swissporarena football stadium.
- From their point of view, no contractual obligations were violated in the dispute surrounding the pre-emption rights for the stadium shares vis-à-vis the city.
- FCL Holding AG reacted with irritation and disappointment.
As recently as September 2023, the city of Lucerne took a confrontational approach to Bernhard Alpstaeg: the authorities announced that they would take legal action to ensure that the Lucerne football stadium returned to the city early. In concrete terms, this would have meant that the city was making preparations to take the Swissporarena away from Stadion Luzern AG – and thus Alpstaeg.
Now everything is different again. In discussions, Bernhard Alpstaeg, currently the only board member of Stadion Luzern AG, assured the city government that the building lease contract had always been adhered to. Alpstaeg also emphasized that the contract would also be adhered to in the future, the city council announced.
In concrete terms, this means that the home games of FC Luzern and the three games of the 2025 Women’s European Football Championship in Luzern will be guaranteed.
According to the city, talks will lead to clarification
“We have concluded an agreement that Stadion Luzern AG will continue to maintain the football stadium well in the future,” said Lucerne Mayor Beat Züsli to SRF. A year ago, the city had indications that the building lease contract might have been violated. In discussions, it was now agreed that an “alleged violation” of pre-emption or purchase rights to the shares should neither affect nor impair the operation of the stadium.
Legend:
Fans protest against major shareholder Bernhard Alpstaeg in the stadium in October 2022.
Keystone/Michael Buholzer
Stadion Luzern AG with Bernhard Alpstaeg announced that they were pleased to learn that the reversion proceedings had been discontinued. They wanted to invest a six-figure sum to ensure that the stadium was ready for the Women’s European Football Championship.
Lack of understanding at FCL Holding AG
At FC Luzern, however, things sound completely different. In a statement, FCL Holding AG wrote that it was disappointed and irritated. The city wanted to evade responsibility.
Years-long dispute between Alpstaeg and FCL
Open box
Box zuklappen
In the now far-reaching dispute between Bernhard Alpstaeg and FCL Holding AG, the question surrounding the stadium is only one aspect.
The dispute dates back to autumn 2022. FCL Holding AG accused Alpstaeg of violating its pre-emption rights by acquiring 60 percent of the stadium shares.
At the general meeting of FCL Holding AG in December 2022, Alpstaeg had 25 percent of his shares deleted from the share register. He then filed a criminal complaint against the FCL Board of Directors.
However, the public prosecutor’s office has no suspicion of a crime. According to the online portal “Zentralplus”, Alpstaeg wants to accept this decision.
However, that does not mean that he wants to give in in the shareholder dispute. On the contrary: Alpstaeg wants to concentrate on the most important thing: the recognition of his 52 percent share majority. And Alpstaeg wants to regain this through civil proceedings, his spokesman is quoted as saying in the “Luzerner Zeitung”.
FCL Holding AG maintains that it was probably not legal how Bernhard Alpstaeg came to own the majority of shares in the stadium. They do not understand why the city of Lucerne is not standing up to Stadion Luzern AG more forcefully.
It is clear from the building lease agreement that FCL Holding AG, as a shareholder, has a right of first refusal. It is also clear that FCL Holding AG is entitled to a seat on the board of directors of Stadion Luzern AG. It is therefore incomprehensible that the City of Lucerne does not insist on compliance with these obligations.
