Joint Alpine bid to host 2008 lies in tatters

Published on Sunday 13 June 2004 00:03

THE winning bid for Euro 2008 that shattered Scotland’s dreams of hosting a major sports tournament is itself in ruins as Scotland on Sunday reveals that the showpiece stadium that was to host the final will not be completed on time.

As the cream of Europe’s soccer teams limber up in Portugal for Euro 2004, the Swiss reputation for ruthless efficiency lies in tatters as the main stadium in Zurich has fallen foul of the country’s Byzantine planning laws.

Even though there are four years to the kick off in the opening game, Eufa has confirmed the Swiss-Austrian tournament is in jeopardy due to local objections to the size of the building and the traffic created by the stadium.

The news has led to anger and frustration in Scotland, whose joint bid with Ireland was outvoted by the combined Alpine bid in 2002. At the time the Scots claimed the defeat had more to do with politics and lobbying than the merits of the bids. A spokesman for Jack McConnell, the First Minister, said: "Scotland had an extremely good bid. In the end our lack of success seemed to be more down to football politics than proper scrutiny of the proposals."

An insider who worked with the joint Scottish-Irish bid said: "It was known that they had ‘issues’ with Zurich, although no-one thought they were so serious. At least the Scottish part of the bid had the stadia in place and we were guaranteed to have the Irish stadia there. A lot of Scots will feel very aggrieved."

Simon Lyons, the marketing director of the Scottish 2008 bid, said: "A bid does not consist of just that which is in place. It also has that which one promises and how much they believe one can deliver.

"Uefa had a strong belief that both the Swiss-Austrian bid and the Scotland-Ireland bid would deliver.

"There is a saying in bidding that ‘the only thing worse than losing is winning... because then you have to deliver on your promises.’"

Henry McLeish, who launched Scotland’s bid for the 2008 championship when he was First Minister, said the news that the tournament was in difficulties was "a worrying development". He said: "I am sure the Swiss and Austrians will pull out all the stops to rescue the situation, but the Scottish bid was well developed and I think Scotland would still be in a position to offer to host the tournament if someone needs to step in for 2008."

A Euro 2008 official has blamed Switzerland’s system of direct democracy for the delays. While the Swiss scramble to find a ‘Plan B’, a Uefa spokesman has said that if the Zurich stadium is no longer part of the championship the whole Alpine bid will be reassessed.

The stadium project is mired in a series of planning wrangles made more complex by the Swiss system of direct democracy which gives citizens substantial rights to object and appeal against new developments.

Kathrin Martelli, a leading Zurich councillor, has conceded it will now "take a minor miracle" for it to be ready for the tournament.

Locals are against the influx of traffic which they claim the new stadium will bring, and some object to the new stadium’s impact on the local skyline. Under local planning law, the development will require a referendum, which is due to be held on September 7. But unless local pressure groups and planners reach a compromise over the objections, the referendum could be subject to a legal challenge.

Credit Suisse, the stadium’s patron, stated that unless the outstanding complaints from a residents’ association, an environmental group and a specialist lawyer were withdrawn by Tuesday it would halt the planning process. The Swiss Football Association will decide definitively on July 7 whether Zurich will be a venue. Reinhard Giger of Credit Suisse Real Estate Management has admitted he no longer believes the stadium will be ready by the end of 2007, as envisaged.

Hopes of a compromise were effectively ended last week when the objectors rejected substantial concessions, including revised speed limits on approach roads. The Swiss-Austrian proposal involved eight stadiums - four in each country. At present neither Austria nor Switzerland boasts an alternative to the Zurich stadium which fulfils Uefa’s requirements for a final.

Uefa’s media chief, William Gaillard, said that if the Zurich stadium did not materialise this would alter the basis of the agreement between Uefa and the host countries. Uefa would therefore have to reconsider the arrangements.

This prompted fears in Switzerland and Austria that their bid could be declared invalid and the event moved elsewhere. There were rumours that Austria might seek a new partner, or that a larger nation might step in to host the competition.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday Gaillard sought to dispel such speculation. While conceding Uefa would reassess the hosting agreement if Zurich dropped out, he said it would be the logistical arrangements rather than the bid itself which would come under scrutiny.

He emphasised that the Swiss Football Association had yet to inform Uefa officially that Zurich’s stadium would not be ready, although his organisation was aware of the problem.