No big concerts at the Wiener Stadthalle «kleinezeitung.at

Vienna will have a new event center to take over the tasks of the Wiener Stadthalle. Where, is still open. For the existing Stadthalle, a mix of popular sports and culture is possible.

4:13 pm, November 7, 2018

This is becoming more concrete: by the end of January, it should be clear where the Vienna Event Arena will be announced. Because of its location, which can accommodate up to 20,000 visitors, the city must also think about the future of the city. Stadthalle make. After all, major concerts and international sporting events will no longer take place there. It is conceivable, for example, a mixture of culture and popular sports.

Too many details about the new "multifunctional room" are not available anyway. In any case, the project will be managed by Wien Holding or its new subsidiary, WH-Arena Projektentwicklung GmbH. The next step is now to clarify the location of the giant construction. "Eight sites are audited," said city councilor Peter Hanke (SPO). There should be a result by the end of January.

Which places are eligible, the department head did not reveal. In any case, important criteria are – in addition to a property of corresponding size – for example, the transport connection or the existing technical infrastructure. Once the location is set, construction and architectural offers as well as detailed planning begin. "It all depends on the height of the ceilings, the delivery routes, the technological zones and the question of the number of lockers available," explained the Managing Director of Wien Holding. Kurt GollowitzerThe scope and design of the gastro and VIP areas will also be defined. In any case, a kind of modular system is provided, which makes the building usable for different purposes.

Gollowitzer is expecting a job opening ceremony no later than 2021. From that moment, a construction period of up to three years can be expected. How much money do you take in hand and where does it come from, the city does not know yet. "We are looking at all forms of financing," said Hanke. Say: Private could also be on board. And comparable projects in other cities would have cost up to 220 million euros.

Modern shows require a new room

The fact that Vienna needs a new multipurpose hall is due to more and more elaborate shows and more and more numerous. After all, there are now 30 trucks or more for big rock concerts, he said. This could be the Stadthalle, which now has six decades under its belt, is no longer offering any offer. A conversion would be difficult for the protection of monuments and space. And event planners would also prefer sites with greater visitor capacity, as they could generate more revenue with the same cost of production.

What does it mean for those of Roland Rainer built Stadthalle? Hanke badured that the event complex will continue to exist and that all additional rooms will be preserved next to the Great Hall D. What will take place there will be determined as part of a concept of reuse that will be developed by Wien Holding in parallel with the planning of the new arena. In any case, major concerts and international sports events will no longer take place in the building that will succeed him for the reasons mentioned above.

Hanke can imagine that Stadthalle in the future to provide more for the mbad sport. Here it is with the sports council Peter Hacker (SPÖ) during the vote. Smaller cultural events, such as they have been on offer for years in Hall F, are also planned for the future.