Letter to thousands of members Cult sports hall to be demolished for bicycle bridge - now the row is escalating

The Yonex badminton hall would have to make way for a new bicycle bridge between districts 4 and 5 in the city of Zurich - but operators and thousands of users are fighting against it.

Two needs collide in Zurich: on the one hand, the expansion of the cycling infrastructure and, on the other, the continued existence of a place that has long been more than just a sports hall for thousands of people.

This is because the Yonex badminton hall on Hardbrücke would have to make way for the new cycle bridge between districts 4 and 5 - much to the annoyance of the operators and the 29,000 registered users.

Although it has been clear for some time that the bridge is to be built, the winning project from 2021 actually envisaged that the hall would remain standing and the bridge could be built next door.

In the meantime, however, laws and safety requirements have become stricter and this is no longer possible: the bridge can no longer be as steep as originally planned for the safety of cyclists, and it also needs to be widened. This means it no longer fits past the hall.

Long letter to the civil engineering office

City councillor Simone Brander (SP) is responsible for this project. The operator of the badminton hall is Philipp Kurz. He explains to blue News: "We received information back in September 2024 that something was going on. We reacted immediately and wrote a long letter to the civil engineering department."

The main concern at the time was to talk to Simone Brander and find a solution with her so that the hall could remain. The letter remained unanswered until the end of 2024. "We then had a meeting with Simone Brander's employees in January. They came to our hall and informed us that they wanted to demolish the hall." It was a bit of a shock for Kurz. "At that point, there was no talk of demolishing the hall."

Hope remained

However, it was not enough for Philipp Kurz to speak to the city councillor's staff. He wanted to get in touch with the person responsible directly. The hope of a conversation with Ms. Brander and thus also the hope that the hall would be allowed to remain remained.

Despite repeated requests, Kurz says no meeting has been arranged to date. Nevertheless, he took the next step. "Last summer, together with users of the hall, we submitted a petition to the city of Zurich." 7,000 signatures called for the bridge to be planned in such a way that the hall could be preserved.

When the petition was submitted in the summer of 2025, many members of the badminton hall attended. The city councillor was also there. She gave a speech about the construction project. "The situation was absurd," recalls Kurz. Because the city councillor had said: however this bridge was built, the hall would be demolished one way or another.

Kurz says: "The reason for this was that a construction site was to be built on the spot where our hall now stands." In other words, a place where material is unloaded and construction machinery is placed.

Visitors to the Yonex hall no longer understood the world. "We do so much for Zurich, especially for the revitalization of Kreis 5," says Kurz. "We are not just a sports hall. Concerts and events take place in our hall." In addition, the hall's main clientele are cyclists. "We have nothing against the bridge, we would even benefit from it."

Parliament supports the hall operators

The municipal council - the parliament of the city of Zurich - was also surprised, says Kurz. "The municipal council then tabled a motion in parliament in September 2025 that the bridge should be built without having to demolish the hall. The motion was passed with 109 votes in favor and 9 against." Following the initiative, the postulate was passed on by the municipal council to the city council for consideration.

The topic is now highly topical again: Kurz is writing an email to all registered players this week in which he recaps all the incidents in connection with the planned bridge - in which he also recommends which politicians should be elected in the municipal and city council elections on March 8, 2026 in order to preserve the hall. For example, he names the councillors who initiated the initiative to preserve the hall. No surprise: he does not recommend councillor Simone Brander for re-election.

At the request of blue News, the city takes a stand. As the councillor responsible, Ms. Brander, is on vacation, Lucas Bally, Head of Communications at the Zurich Department of Civil Engineering and Waste Management, commented on the accusations: "As is often the case in a dense area like the city of Zurich, there are various legitimate concerns at odds with each other: In this case, the preservation of the hall and a good and safe connection for pedestrians and cyclists across the tracks."

The location of this planned connection is determined by the binding municipal transport structure plan. This plan contains transport projects at a higher political level that require further coordination, for example. The municipal transport structure plan was approved by voters in 2021 with a clear majority of 58.5 percent. This plan also includes the city of Zurich's preferred cycle route.

"The options are severely limited due to the limited space available and the need to meet the standards and specifications for a safe and attractive connection," says Bally. He confirms: The 2021 competition had envisaged a more compact, helical exit between the viaduct and the Yonex badminton hall.

"After the competition, the new cycling standards of the Canton of Zurich came into force. According to these, the ramps of the original bridge were too steep and the sight distances and curve radii were insufficient, which would have led to dangerous situations for cyclists if they had been implemented." This high risk of accidents could not be accepted with a new bridge. The width of the bridge would also no longer meet current safety standards.

Construction to start in 2030 at the earliest

However, the hall cannot be demolished quite so easily. The project still has a few hurdles to overcome first. Bally says: "The bridge won't be built before 2030." Before construction can begin, the project requirements in accordance with Article 13 and Article 16 of the Roads Act still have to be met. There will also be a referendum on the loan. The total costs were estimated at around CHF 80 million in 2024. If it is rejected, the bridge cannot be built. We will then see what happens next.

Bally says: "I'm not aware that Ms. Brander said that the hall would have to be demolished 'anyway'. However, she did point out that the hall would have to be demolished before construction of the bridge could begin."

The city also rejects the accusation that Simone Brander did not get in touch with the operators. Bally says: "The civil engineering office deliberately informed the operators of the badminton hall about a possible future development of the tenancy at an extremely early stage and proactively." This was followed by a personal meeting with those responsible at the Civil Engineering Office.

In addition, the badminton hall is located on municipal land. It was already clear at the beginning of the tenancy: If the city needed the property to fulfill public needs, the hall would have to go.

City council must look for an alternative location

One small ray of hope remains for the badminton hall. Bally explains: "Despite careful consideration, no solution could be found to meet both concerns equally. The postulate submitted on September 10, 2025 now calls on the city council to examine how the Yonex badminton hall can continue to operate at its existing location or - if this is not possible - to look for an alternative location, ideally in District 5." The deadline for responding to the postulate is September 10, 2027.

For hall operator Kurz, one thing is clear: the goal at the moment is to keep the hall at Geroldstrasse 5. "If in two years' time it actually turns out that we have to leave, but an alternative site is offered, we are not averse to talking about it."

Locations in the vicinity of the Gerold site are possible. "But moving further away is out of the question for us at the moment." Only if it were a matter of survival would they make major compromises with the city. It therefore remains to be seen what the city council will say about the postulate and how the people will vote on the loan for the bridge.

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