in 2006, the citizens of thun refused to finance a new stadium with public funds, leaving fc thun in a bind: without a new stadium the club would be ineligible to play professionally. general contractor hrs offered to finance a new stadium, with a shopping center on the same area (the panorama center), located 1.8 km northwest of stadion lachen. in 2007 the contracts were signed, and the construction work began in spring 2010. the new stadium - at that time called arena thun - was officially inaugurated on 9 july 2011, with a friendly match between 1. fc köln and fc thun. köln's striker milivoje novaković was the first player to score in the new arena (5'), and the game ended in a tie (2:2).