Hall roof is rotten

City rows back: WAC stays in Klagenfurt after all

Happy ending: the talented players of the WAC Academy can stay at the Sportpark after all.

(Bild: Pessentheiner/f. pessentheiner)

- Cancellation of the academy boarding school of Bundesliga club WAC? The city of Klagenfurt is now backtracking!
- The sports authority warns against the announced budget cuts.
- Although the "Big Air" event in the Wörthersee Stadium has been agreed, the final contract is still missing. 
- And: It is seriously raining into a Bundesliga hall. . .

Much ado about nothing. The mayor of Klagenfurt, Christian Scheider, has created just such a fuss. With his unexpectedly harsh statement last January to prematurely terminate the WAC's contract for the boarding rooms at the Sportpark, which runs until 2029. "For space reasons, there can only be one AKA - namely that of Austria," Scheider said at the time.

Claudio Trevisan, head of sports at the "Kärntner Krone" editorial office, sheds light on the Carinthian sports scene in this column.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

But now he has backed down: in a recent meeting with AKA WAC boss Walter Kogler, the head of the city assured the "Wolves" that they would be allowed to stay here after all. "Yes, so the issue is off the table," confirms Kogler, who is still looking for alternative venues (most recently the St. Veit Blumenhotel or the AMS building there). One thing is certain. . .

No more money for sports taster sessions?
The rigorous cost-cutting measures for sport in Klagenfurt are also a major issue - as we have reported. Even sports taster sessions are to be cut! Although it only costs 30,000 euros, thousands of kids and many clubs benefit from it.

If voluntary services such as the use of halls for clubs are also cut, this could threaten their very existence.

Mario POLAK, Leiter des Klagenfurter Sportamtes

"Of course it would be fatal, it would hit the health budget directly," says city councillor Constanze Mochar. Head of the sports department Mario Polak warns: "If voluntary services such as the use of halls for clubs are also cut, it could threaten the existence of the city." The heads of department have been instructed to only include legally or contractually binding contracts in the 2025 budget. Mochar: "There will therefore be cuts, it doesn't look good. ."

Final signature still missing for "Big Air"
However, the funding of 100,000 euros for the "Big Air" event from December 31st or January 1st in the Wörthersee Stadium is not in danger. Mochar: "That still falls within the 2024 budget."

Strange: Signatures for the final contract between the city and the organizer are still missing - the "Krone" had already pointed this out in August (see above)! "Yes, the signatures are still missing. But the contract is currently being written up by lawyers and is just a formality. Everything is on track," says Mochar. In the meantime, a city senate resolution has finally been passed.

Klagenfurt doesn't have an indoor pool, but there are tubs in Waidmannsdorf's hall. . .

(Bild: zVg)

Floorballers sit in the rain
The Waidmannsdorf hall is emblematic of the city's situation - the roof is so rotten that rain has once again penetrated it. The Bundesliga floorballers therefore had to cancel their games again this weekend! An indictment of poverty. In the truest sense of the word.