Provided that the relaxations envisaged earlier this summer materialize, HC Fribourg-Gottéron will finally be able to fill their arena with 8934 spectators. The restoration of the rink, with the dismantling of the temporary seating area, is scheduled to take place at the end of August. Overall, considering the many uncertainties, Berger would be satisfied with an average of 7,500 spectators.
The success of the subscription campaign will determine the size of the budget available to team manager Christian Dubé to make future transfers. Already reduced by one million francs this season compared to the last, the Dragons' budget for the 2022-23 financial year may have to be reduced again, as explained by Berger: "If I had to decide for a cut now, the answer would be yes. But we have a lot of room to work with, with many players at the end of their contracts. And then, unsurprisingly, we will present deficit accounts at the assembly".
On a side note, the official inauguration of the new ice rink has been postponed again indefinitely. The BCF Arena has been completed for eleven months and will still have to wait before it is officially named. The festivities were to take place on September 4 but have been postponed due to the spreading of the Delta variant.
