Two million gone

The red pencil is raging in St. Pölten

SKN president Helmut Schwarzl (left) & managing director Matthias Gebauer(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Walter Luger)

Following the hearing by the Bundesliga, St. Pölten had to drastically reduce its budget. A strict austerity course should make the license possible.

With only his second goal in his 87th professional game for St. Pölten (he scored his first in the Bundesliga four years ago against WSG Tirol), Christoph Messerer laid the early foundations (9th) for a 3-1 win in the second division derby against bottom club Amstetten on Friday. The 22-year-old was once again watched by Hartberg scout Rene Swete and, alongside Julian Keiblinger and David Riegler, is one of the SKN players who is expected to make the leap to the top division in the summer.

St. Pölten celebrated a 3:1 victory against Amstetten(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Walter Luger)

And there are indications that St. Pölten will have to sell its shares following the withdrawal of cooperation club Wolfsberg. Managing director Matthias Gebauer was summoned to the Bundesliga headquarters on Thursday because there were questions about the submitted license documents. "We went through some topics again, I was able to answer and explain everything." For example, that the letters of intent from some major sponsors are legally binding. But also that the originally stated budget of six million euros is not sustainable without money from Germany.

Gebauer (left) & Schwarzl(Bild: GEPA pictures)

 
Gebauer: "As there is nothing new in the search for new partners, we have corrected down to just under four million." This means that the professional department now has just under two million instead of three million.

Still competitive
From now on, the red pencil is raging! "We have to make savings, of course or above all in the squad." The end of the 2024/25 championship dreams? Not necessarily. This season, only GAK and Ried had a higher budget than SKN in the coming season, at five million euros each. Gebauer: "The important thing is that we get the license now. I think we will manage that."