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Austria Now News – Vienna
Austria national football team coach Ralf Rangnick has stressed that the site of the current Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna is the best location for the multi-purpose event arena he has been calling for for some time. He said the site is the most suitable in terms of logistics and traffic and needs no lengthy debate, according to vienna.at, citing the APA news agency.
Investors interested, with conditions
Rangnick explained that a group of successful businesspeople and investors had shown great interest in the project, but first wanted to know the location as well as the naming and operating rights. He noted that an investment of between 600 million and one billion euros would only be made if there were a prospect of later profits, which is why the arena would have to be used 365 days a year for a variety of events besides matches.
The City of Vienna’s role
The Happel Stadium is owned by the City of Vienna, which in this scenario would have to hand over the land in the Prater to the investors. There would also be high costs for demolishing the old stadium. Rangnick said private investors could cover these costs as well, and that the project would cost neither taxpayers nor the City of Vienna anything, adding that so far it was still only a matter of possibilities.
Criticism of the international window
The German coach expressed dissatisfaction with the expansion of the first international window after the World Cup to four matches, noting that he had had to send four long-term injured players back to their clubs early, and said he would prefer a return to the previous format. He also praised his new 32-year-old assistant Maximilian Ritscher, who previously served as assistant to coach Dietmar Kühbauer at LASK.
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Sources
vienna.at citing APA, Rangnick sieht Wiener Happel-Areal als besten Standort für Eventarena, 03.11.2026, https://www.vienna.at/rangnick-sieht-wiener-happel-areal-als-besten-standort-fuer-eventarena/10612247
