Put on ice

Dornbirn area degenerates into a “Gstetten”

Plans for a new ice rink on Höchsterstrasse have been underway in Messestadt since 2018. However, not much has happened yet.

The story goes back several years: it has been clear since 2018 that Dornbirn needs a new ice rink. At that time, the ice rink on Höchsterstraße could no longer be used for technical reasons. The location was finally agreed in 2019. The NEOS, for whom everything was moving far too slowly at the time, called for the new ice rink to be included in the budget for 2020.

It is now 2024 - and nothing has happened: there is as little sign of the new ice rink as there is of the promised trend sports hall, a new gymnasium or a meeting place for open youth work. The large-scale "Arena Höchsterstraße" project is literally on ice.

"I understand that the city doesn't have the funds at the moment, but better design and management of the area - for example by the open youth work - would make sense," says Dornbirn's SPÖ leader Markus Fäßler. He expects Deputy Mayor Julian Fässler to keep his promises so that the arena does not continue to degenerate into a "Gstetten".