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The Sports Bar, unique to Zürich Airport, now becomes one of the Airside Center’s flagship F&B outlets | |
SWITZERLAND. Food and beverage specialist SSP has opened its new Sports Bar concept at Zürich Airport’s Airside Center. The unique bar and restaurant concept was developed in close cooperation with Zürich Airport, and opened to customers at the end of November.
The Sports Bar features a number of screens allowing customers to keep track of the latest live sports events. In addition to the main, very large screen positioned above the bar, a series of screens are located in “shop windows” sponsored by key brands; Lindt, sponsor of Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer; Omega, long-time supporter of the Olympic Games; Heineken, sponsor of Champions’ League football; and Cornercard, the financial services company that sponsors Swiss gymnast Arianne Kaeslin.
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Omega (left) and Heineken are among the sponsors of special “shop windows” within the Sports Bar | |
Several design touches within the Sports Bar reinforce the sporting theme; the lighting, for example, recalls the floodlights used in sports stadia, while the flooring is designed to resemble that of a gymnasium or basketball court.
Zürich Airport Head Marketing Retail & Services Patrick Graf said that the Sports Bar was part of the airport’s determination to create unique concepts that meet the specific requirements of travellers. With this objective in mind, the landlord selected the architect for the Sports Bar itself.
“We are not interested in standard concepts from the major companies, and if you want diversity from the big F&B operators, you have to be very involved in the design and choice of the concept,” he says.
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The sleek, contemporary design of the Sports Bar is crowned by the large screen positioned above the bar |
“We were very clear that we didn’t want a traditional look, and we decided the design of everything right down to the chairs and units, all of which are tailor-made. At Zürich our customers have very high expectations with regard to cleanliness and the environment, and as a result we as an airport have to be strict on this.
“We’re delighted with the design of the Sports Bar and with the nice mix of healthy and traditional meals on offer. Our objective was to keep it simple, clean and smart, and I think together with SSP we have done that.”
The Sports Bar is one of a series of major developments at Zürich over the coming year, as the airport prepares to centralise its security control, removing the need for checks at the gate and ensuring passengers have more time to explore the retail and F&B offer.
Full details will be available in The Moodie Report January Print Edition, where new developments at Zürich Airport will be the focus of an in-depth feature.
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Lindt, sponsor of Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, enjoys prominent visibility within the Sports Bar |
