Austrian club plans venue by the Danube



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Austria Blau-Weiss Linz neues Stadion Image: Magistrat Linz

The Austrian association football club FC Blau-Weiß Linz is getting a new venue in Linz (Austria). Representatives from the City Linz, State and association presented the winner of the architectural competition held for the Donauparkstadion recently.

The new Donauparkstadion is to be built in the foreseeable future on the bridgehead of the new Linz railway bridge in Austria. To be designed by Atelier Mauch, the stadium is expected to be energy-efficient with LED lighting. It’s also likely that the roof will be covered with solar panels, though they won’t be part of the initial build. The price tag may stand in the way. Initially, the price tag was expected to be around €9 million, but upon presentation it was estimated to be between €12-15 million.

Of that pool, the State of Upper Austria would contribute up to €3 million, the City is to cover the remainder. Should financing fall into place, construction could begin already in mid-2021. It’s expected to last until the summer of 2023.
 

Capacity

The new arena planned will be able to fit in more than 5,000 onlookers and will boast size that FC Blau Weiß Linz needs as a Second League club and perhaps later for Bundesliga matches.

The Austrian Football Second League is the second highest professional division in Austrian football. It was formerly called the First League from 2002 to 2018. The division currently contains 16 teams, and the champion of the league is promoted to the Austrian Bundesliga. Their residence is Linzer Stadion.

Linzer Stadion is a multipurpose stadium in Linz, Austria. The stadium is also known as ‘Auf der Gugl’, the name of the hill on which it is situated. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts most matches of FC Blau-Weiß Linz and top matches of Austrian association football club LASK Linz.

The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. The competition decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country’s entrants for the various European cups run by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
 

Full of beans

The Mayor of Linz, Klaus Luger of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), was all agog as regards the design of the new Donauparkstadion.

Exulted Luger, “Not only football fans and players will feel at home here. This sports facility massively enhances the urban area between the City motorway, the Danube and the busy Danube area.”

Deputy Mayor Markus Hein of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) maintained that the new venue will bring a total transformation in the Linz harbor district.
 

In harmony

While the project was being jointly presented, Regional Councilor for Economic and Sports Affairs Markus Achleitner (ÖVP) also lauded the excellent cooperation between the State of Upper Austria and the City of Linz on the sports infrastructure package and asserted that Gugl (Linzer Stadion) and Donauparkstadion would not be competing stadiums, but complementary stadia.

The ‘Greens’ in Linz want all plans to come on the table and for all municipal bodies to take a look at the plans.
 

Stadium specifics

The Donauparkstadion promises to be a vision. The field will be rotated by nearly 180 degrees and lifted up because the new stadium will sit atop a furniture warehouse! Municipal officials even visited Belgrade (Serbia) in 2019 because the entire development is taking a leaf out of Vożdovac, the stadium sitting on top of a shopping center in Belgrade. As a result, the new stadium’s playing field will be above ground level. The warehouse will be operated by XXX Lutz, who was granted permission to build their new store behind the arena.

Rotation of the field from its initial position is meant to optimize use of the limited space available as there’s a fresh car/tram bridge to be built along the facility. Meanwhile, the venue has to grow beyond comparison with the old, amateur-level ground. On ground level alone, there will be 620 m2 of commercial spaces available for lease.

The limited footprint requires optimal structural solutions, so a reinforced concrete frame was selected, along with steel prefabs. The stadium’s facade will comprise metal covered with neutral mesh. The outer mesh will be just one layer, with a glazing inside. This way the interiors of the venue will receive natural light, while offering fans inside a spectacular view of the Danube nearby. Yes, the river is just 50 meters away from the stadium.

Because the stadium will become part of the riverside promenade, it will open towards the river, welcoming passersby. This is also where fans are expected to arrive in large numbers. Semi-open spaces will not only be created on ground level but also one floor above, where a 280-square-meter balcony will offer guests an amazing view of the City and Danube River.

The balcony is also planned as part of the stadium’s hospitality offer, which in total will exceed 1,000 m2, split between three of the five above-ground levels. As one would expect, skyboxes will top the entire area. On a weekly level, the modular hospitality part can be used for conference and banqueting.

As for the auditorium itself, it will hold nearly 5,400 people, which means the stadium will not measure up to UEFA Category 4 standards. The main grandstand will be created in the South-West, accommodating media representatives and disabled supporters. The Danube end (West) will have a standing block for more vocal fans, while the northern ‘gegengerade’ is being planned as a family section.

Come 2023, and Donauparkstadion is sure to be the crowning glory of Austria.

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