New alternative

Indoor swimming pool: Greens now focus on trade fair parking lot

According to the Greens, instead of green areas on the Südring, already sealed areas should be used for a new indoor swimming pool. This visualization shows how they envisage this.

(Bild: Grüne Kärnten)

The story surrounding Klagenfurt's indoor swimming pool has been enriched by another facet. The Green Party has brought the exhibition grounds into play as an alternative to the Wörthersee Stadium site.

"Klagenfurt is the only provincial capital in Austria without an indoor swimming pool. That has to change," emphasizes Olga Voglauer, Carinthian member of parliament for the Green Party. They are now presenting a concept as an alternative to the current plans next to the stadium.

"The Klagenfurt of tomorrow needs a sustainable and cost-saving indoor swimming pool in the city center, not in the swamp area," says Voglauer. "That's why we are continuing to fight tenaciously for an indoor swimming pool on the exhibition grounds, which should be located next to the ice rink as part of a comprehensive redesign of the entire area."

According to the Greens, the trade fair parking lot offers sufficient space for an indoor pool.

(Bild: Grüne Kärnten)

There should also be enough space for a 50-meter pool, according to the Greens, who cite information from the Klagenfurt trade fairs. "The parking lot can become a swimming pool so that the field on the Südring can remain a field," says Voglauer. The Greens also point out the problems with the groundwater level in the area on the Südring: "The construction could push water into the houses of local residents, and the additional sealing increases the risk of flooding."

Concepts for an indoor swimming pool in Klagenfurt are certainly not in short supply - there have been a number of proposals in recent years, but they never came to fruition. As the city government and the state of Carinthia are currently still backing the project on the Südring, the prospects for the exhibition center do not look too rosy. Nevertheless, the Greens now want to collect signatures.