Switzerland
Stade de Suisse
Stade de Suisse is a football stadium in Bern. It is the home ground of the BSC Young Boys football team, and is one of the biggest all-seater football stadiums in Switzerland. Stade de Suisse was built on the grounds of the former Wankdorfstadion, which had been demolished in 2001. The new stadium has a capacity of 32 000 spectators, all covered seats. Integrated into the roof are solar panels with a yearly production of 700 000 kWh. The stadium was officially opened in July 2005. BSC Young Boys played against French side Olympique de Marseille and lost 2-3 with 14 000 spectators watching. The match was considered an infrastructure test, which is why no more than 14 000 tickets were sold.
The stadium was used by FC Thun for three UEFA Champions League home matches in 2005.
A peculiar feature of the Stade de Suisse is the presence of a single, red seat. The other seats are black and yellow. This was the first seat installed at the new stadium, in January 2005, and the honour of unveiling it was given to former BSC Young Boys player and manager Walter Eich. There are no tickets available for this seat; every game the seat is occupied by a notable personality, often with ties to BSC Young Boys. Stade de Suisse is also used for ice hockey matches.
