Switzerland: Schaffhausen Stadium a major financial burden for the club

source: StadiumDB.com; author: Paulina Skóra

Switzerland: Schaffhausen Stadium a major financial burden for the club Schaffhausen is grappling with enormous debt. According to Blick, even payment demands are piling up at the club. The financial situation is so dire that the CEO has publicly raised the alarm.

Advertisement

The club cannot sustain such a large stadium

Since taking over a year ago, CEO Jimmy Berisha has unsuccessfully attempted to sell the club to a foreign investor. Potential buyers included a Saudi sheikh, but no concrete offers ever materialized. Now the club’s future is uncertain, and its survival is at risk. A key burden remains LIPO Park Schaffhausen, owned by FCS—a significant weight on the club's finances. Annual maintenance costs for the facility range from CHF 700,000 to 1 million. We own a property that cannot be financed, Berisha admitted in an interview with Blick.

Attendance at Schaffhausen matches only reaches above 1,000, a situation that is due to the team's sporting level and alternative ways of activity for fans. Many of them choose reputable online Casino Slots where security and gaming fun go hand in hand.

The CEO reports debts amounting to tens of millions of Swiss francs. While he does not provide precise figures, a deficit of at least CHF 10 million raises questions about how such severe financial shortfalls were approved by auditors and the Swiss Football League during the licensing process.

LIPO Park Schaffhausen (Stadion Schaffhausen)© Simisa, Wikimedia Commons

Selling the facility or securing municipal aid is the only hope for FC Schaffhausen

The arena, inaugurated in 2017 along with surrounding infrastructure, was built at a cost of approximately CHF 60 million. LIPO Park Schaffhausen is located on the northeastern edge of the city’s developed area, right next to a forest. The stadium's roof is entirely covered with solar panels, and the lighting fixtures are installed just above the roof level. Portions of the stadium’s sidewalls are inclined, providing an optimal angle for the additional solar panels mounted on them. The total photovoltaic surface area of the facility amounts to 8,707 m², with a system capacity of 1.4 MW. This makes it the largest PlusEnergieBau system on a football stadium in Switzerland and Europe. Annually, the system generates 1,290,000 kWh, which covers 150% of the energy requirements of the stadium, including its integrated shopping center. Thanks to this energy surplus, the stadium also supplies power to its surrounding area.

Although the club does not own the entire complex, the stadium is still listed as a multimillion-franc asset in the FCS balance sheet. However, this is largely a paper tiger—theoretically valuable, but practically unsellable due to the lack of a market. Berisha’s previous attempts to sell the stadium have failed. The FCS Arena, intended to secure professional football in Schaffhausen for the long term, now poses an immediate threat to its existence.

LIPO Park Schaffhausen (Stadion Schaffhausen)© METHABAU

Berisha is now appealing to local city and canton authorities for financial support. However, political skepticism in Schaffhausen is traditionally high. The costly stadium was privately funded by long-term club patron Aniello Fontana because the city refused to renovate the old Breite stadium or transfer it under lease. Fontana designed the 8,000-seat arena, which now appears oversized, with the intention of meeting Super League requirements in case of promotion. Tragically, the Swiss Football League abolished the 8,000-seat rule shortly after the stadium’s opening.

Advertisement