During the opening ceremony, not only the investors Walter Frey, Peter Spuhler and Rolf Dörig, president Swiss Life's board of directors, were celebrated by the fans, but also many club legends. They carried the banners of all the sporting successes of the ZSC and the ZSC Lions onto the ice, which were then pulled up to the rafters of the Swiss Life Arena.
Among the legends were 99-year-old Heinz Hinterkircher, who was part of the team that won the Swiss championship in 1949. But also more recent players of the ZSC Lions, such as Michel Zeiter, Claudio Micheli, or Morgan Samuelsson. Finnish goalie Ari Sulander and long-time captain Mathias Seger brought the banners with their own faces and numbers, which are also part of the new arena.
Also on the ice after the ceremony, the first game in the new, sold-out arena in front of 12'000 spectators was a success. The Lions defeated HC Fribourg-Gottéron 2-1. Denis Hollenstein and Mikko Lehtonen were the first to players to score in their new home.
