Ingeniously designed in an L-shape, the Vaudoise Aréna allows for a very efficient use of space. Indeed, on the same area as the former ice rink, the facility offers a surface of 61,201 m², equivalent to nearly 8 football fields. This area is spread over 7 floors, 4 of which are open to the public.
The Vaudoise Aréna brings together an Ice Centre comprising a convertible arena, an indoor training rink, and an outdoor rink; an Olympic aquatic centre; table tennis and fencing centres; as well as conference and seminar spaces.
History
The Vaudoise aréna was inaugurated on
- 24 September 2019 (Ice Centre)
- 21 August 2022 (Aquatic Centre), marking the start of the Campus working at full capacity.
Its history dates back to the 1980s, when the cities of Lausanne, Prilly and Renens joined forces to build an ice rink on the Malley site, on the border of the three municipalities, to host major sporting events and replace the Montchoisi ice rink, which had become too cramped for large-scale events. The Malley ice rink was to be a great success, hosting a number of prestigious concerts. The complex was expanded to include reception areas and a second covered ice rink, thanks to the support of the municipalities in the Lausanne Région.
Thirty years later, the need to create a modern, large-scale sports and events centre led the municipal and cantonal authorities to launch a project to completely overhaul the site. An architectural competition was launched in 2014. That same year, the public limited company CSM (Centre sportif de Malley) SA was created by the municipalities of Lausanne, Prilly and Renens to build, own and operate the arena.
In 2015, the decision to award Lausanne the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games provided the decisive impetus for the rapid completion of the project. The jury unanimously chose the H2O project by Lausanne architects Pont12. During the works, a temporary ice rink called Malley 2.0 was erected to the south of the railway tracks, in the municipality of Prilly.
In 2018, a naming contract was signed between Centre Sportif de Malley SA, the owner of the site, and the Vaudoise Assurances group. The new centre was to be known as the Vaudoise aréna.
On 24 September 2019, the Vaudoise aréna ice rink was inaugurated during a National League ice hockey game between Lausanne and Geneva-Servette, in front of a full house (9,600 spectators). Two weeks later, a gala game as part of the NHL World Series pitted the LHC against the Philadelphia Flyers.
In January 2020, the Vaudoise aréna was at the heart of the Lausanne Youth Olympic Games. At the beginning of February, it hosted the final of the Swiss Hockey Cup, when HC Ajoie beat HC Davos 7-3.
The table tennis and fencing centres opened in January 2021. The fencing centre has been certified as a regional performance centre and is used for training by the Swiss team.
Postponed several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the first large-scale shows took place at the Vaudoise aréna in March 2022, with stand-up entertainer Gad Elmaleh opening the show in front of more than 6,000 spectators during a "crazy" week, featuring two shows interspersed with two hockey play-off games.
On 22 August 2022, the most modern aquatic centre in Switzerland was inaugurated by the municipal and cantonal authorities. The four pools opened to the public on 1 September 2022.
Since then, the Vaudoise aréna has hosted a number of international shows and sporting events (Swim Cup, Panathlon Family Games, etc.).