Riegler negotiates

Hotel & stadium! WAC plans to move to St. Veit

(Bild: GEPA, ZVG)

WAC president Dietmar Riegler has some relocation plans in the drawer: a hotel and an arena in St. Veit are on the "wish list". And: What's next for the Lavanttal Arena?

The "Wolves" settle. The WAC is already training with the academy teams for the most part at the St. Veit racecourse. As is well known, the contract with the city of Klagenfurt for the training pitches at the sports park expires, while the contract for the boarding school expires in 2029 - but the city wants to terminate it early.

And so WAC is now preparing for the future! The ducal city could actually become something of a second home for Wolfsberg. Because "big boss" Didi Riegler wants to leave nothing to chance and is already in talks with entrepreneur Alfred Riedl and mayor Martin Kulmer.

Real Madrid was here
The object of desire for a possible AKA boarding school: the St. Veit hotel "Die Zeit", once known as the Blumenhotel. Where Real Madrid even stayed at the time, 110 rooms are currently empty - because owner Riedl 2022 has put the hotel with 5,500 square meters of usable space, fitness and wellness area up for sale in 2022. The Jacques-Lemans boss acquired it for a reported 2.6 million euros in 2017.

The currently vacant four-star hotel "Die Zeit" in St. Veit(Bild: zvg)

"Ideal in terms of location"
"The location right next to the training grounds at the racecourse would be ideal. We have looked at it and I now know the costs. But of course it's not a decision you make overnight. We are at the beginning," Riegler explains to the "Krone".

But "only" a renovation. The running track in the Lavanttal Arena is to be removed.(Bild: zvg)

Running track to go
In Lavanttal, however, the search for land for a new arena is currently looking bleak. An already known site between St. Andrä and Wolfsberg was actually the first option. "But we don't just need a stadium, we also need soccer pitches. Otherwise it makes no sense. The municipality is helping us with the search - but there aren't many options," says Riegler, explaining plan B: "The option of converting the Lavanttal Arena is now the most likely. The running track should then be removed here."

WAC boss Riegler has the Jacques Lemans Arena in mind as a replacement.(Bild: SC St. Veit)

Mobile stands, new floodlights, ...
It is possible that this will happen this summer. But then a replacement stadium will have to be found for a few months - and that's where St. Veit comes into play again. "We have our eye on the Jacques-Lemans-Arena. We are currently looking into the conditions under which we could play in the Bundesliga here."

It can currently hold 2,500 fans and would need to be upgraded with a mobile grandstand and the floodlights adapted. As the move would take place during the warmer months, pitch heating would not be necessary.

And quietly, the WAC is even considering a youth cooperation with the local SC St. Veit.