Friday is a big day for LASK: The Raiffeisen Arena will be officially opened as part of the home game between Linz and Austria Lustenau at the start of the 19th round in the Admiral Bundesliga (from 8:30 p.m. in the LIVE ticker >>>) .
There was a kind of “unofficial” opening a few days earlier with a LASK women’s game against Bürmoos, which the women of Linz won 4-1. Maybe a good omen for the men.
LASK is planning a big party. After all, it is the return to Linz, nine long years after having to switch to the Paschinger Stadion.
The fan zones around the stadium and the business club, where musical entertainment awaits visitors, open three hours before the start of the game.
Will there be a full house? “We are now at around 11,500 tickets that we have sold in total,” said LASK boss Siegmund Gruber on Wednesday. “That’s good for energy holidays and Friday at 8:30 p.m.,” he says.
From “tolerated tenants” to landlords
The president is reluctant to use the word “homecoming” for the comeback in the city. “Despite everything, it wasn’t a home for me personally, because we were only tolerated tenants,” he says, referring to the previous ownership situation.
Because the “Gugl” was owned by the city of Linz, but the new Raiffeisen Arena belongs entirely to LASK.
No longer a subtenant: the Gugl was owned by the city.
Photo: © GEPA
As soon as you enter the area, you get the feeling: LASK has big plans. A UEFA category 4 stadium was built, so games up to the Champions League semifinals are theoretically possible.
But there is still a lack of hand movements here and there in the brand new Raiffeisen Arena. Two days before the premiere against Austria Lustenau, not everything indicates that a Bundesliga game will take place 48 hours later.
It’s more likely that you get the feeling that you shouldn’t lend a hand and lend a hand so that everything gets done on time.
Site fences, construction noise, cherry pickers, scaffolding and the smell of freshly cut steel characterize the picture. There is still a lot of work going on around the stadium in particular. Still, inside the stadium everything seems to be as good as ready.
“It’s normal that hands still have to be put on here and there,” explains a construction worker with a LASK cap. “But everything will be ready so far,” he confirms. In fact, small things seem to be missing here, the schedule is trimmed to the last second.
“One or the other table, armchair or spot of color” is still needed, reveals LASK President Gruber LAOLA1“but nothing that would prevent us from experiencing a super cool football game here on Friday.”
Sustainable delays in the sustainable arena
The impact on prices and supply chains made it difficult for athletes to stick to the plan.
After several quarrels in the construction of the arena, they were already behind schedule anyway, the actual opening was already planned for last summer. But the multitude of obstacles and challenges caused a postponement.
“We have achieved everything that you can see above ground in just over twelve months,” explains Gruber.
The topic of sustainability was a top priority when designing the new stadium.
“From district heating to water retention basins, recycling and no plastic bottles, except where it is required by UEFA,” they tried to take everything into account, as Gruber explains. A solar system is also to be built in the future.
The hospitality area was particularly spacious. There is space for more than 2000 VIP guests in various zones, from the sky box to the event box. The area extends over a total of four levels, on which guests can move freely.
As a “treat”, the stadium also has twelve rooms for overnight stays. However, Gruber does not want the new arena to be seen as a hotel. The accommodations are used by sponsors and organizers as overnight accommodation after trade fairs and events.
LASK gets “Turbobier” into the stadium
The gastro area for the fans is no less spacious. A total of eight kiosks, each with a dozen cash registers, were integrated into the stadium.
Special highlight: The beer dispenser, which is probably the fastest in Austria. In just five seconds, the beloved “jug” can be filled there at full capacity. The filling method is also innovative (see video).
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“We didn’t learn much from other stadiums, but that is,” says Gruber. The idea for the technology was borrowed from Tottenham Hotspur and their stadium.
It is also pleasing that – unlike in most stadiums – there will be return machines for drinking cups. A LASK officer explains: “There will be a cup deposit of one euro, which will be refunded without cash when it is returned.”
Which brings us to the next essential point: the payment system. Cash payments will not be possible in the Linz stadium. It can only be paid by card, mobile phone, smartwatch and the like.
A circumstance that certainly brings many advantages. However, some skepticism can sometimes be heard from fan circles.
A long-time LASK fan, in his late 60s, who examines the new arena on a walk, explains when asked: “There are still many people from my generation or even some who are older. They don’t know about it or don’t have any at all Debit card. It will be difficult for them. I hope that we will be offered a solution here. Otherwise I can make up my visit to the stadium in the future, “he describes with a disappointed look.
Fans expect culinary classics
When it comes to culinary delights, the athletes consciously rely on the tried and tested.
There will be no culinary experiments in the Raiffeisen Arena.
The typical “stadium classics” can be found on the menu. From the Burenwurst, over the Leberkäsesemmel to the hot dog – or in that case “LASK-Dog” – there is everything that the common fan heart desires.
“We deliberately avoided frills here and based ourselves on what the fan likes to consume,” says LASK.
Here, too, the focus is on sustainability. Around 200 partner companies from Upper Austria supply the LASK with food.
“The bill will be settled at the end”
The move should also be economically worthwhile for the Upper Austrians. Compared to Pasching, turnover in the visitor area alone could be more than tripled thanks to more subscriptions sold (around 7,000 have been sold so far) and ticket sales on match days, as Gruber emphasizes.
In total, the new stadium cost around 85 million euros, as far as can be said so far. This is above the originally estimated 60-70 million, which was calculated in 2021 and thus before the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.
Gruber emphasizes: “The billing is done at the end. But I am confident that this (the additional costs, note) will be in the single-digit percentage range,” Gruber continued.
ÖFB comeback in Linz: No comparison to Happel
In the future, games of the ÖFB national team will take place in Linz again. On March 24th and 27th, the red-white-red national team will play their opening games for the World Cup qualifiers in the Raiffeisen Arena against Azerbaijan and Estonia.
Just as people used to be tenants on the “Gugl”, the ÖFB will now be tenants in the Raiffeisen Arena, Gruber explains. “We came, the areas were then made available to us and we had to take care of the rest. It’s the same with the ÖFB, we are the pure landlord these days,” the LASK boss continued.
However, the club has stipulated advantages for its season ticket holders. For these there will be a right of first refusal on ÖFB tickets, as Gruber lets know. When the advance sale starts and how high the ticket prices will be is up to the ÖFB alone.
The turnstiles at the stadium entrances are already ready.
So much can be said: The stadium experience will be on a completely different level compared to the Happel-Oval and it would only be wise on the part of the ÖFB to consider the Linz option more often in the future.
Because here there is actually a chance for a real home game atmosphere.
In addition, the Linz location is not only easily accessible for ÖFB fans from the East.
In addition, in a 19,000-seat stadium, it is much less likely to have to play in front of half-empty stands.
“Luftige’s” stadium experience
On a tour of the arena, it quickly becomes apparent that the planning focused on many essential factors.
The view of the pitch is good from all sectors, and you can feel the feeling of being right where the action is.
This is all the more remarkable because the main grandstand, at around 26 meters, is twice as high as the opposite grandstand, which doesn’t look like it. The arena appears compact and not oversized.
In other stadiums, fans often get the feeling of being crushed by the stands, the Raiffeisen Arena seems much “airier” here.
The aluminum construction of the roof elements is good for the stadium, it takes away a lot of this heaviness, and little concrete is visually perceptible, which gives the whole thing more lightness.
They really thought about a lot of details here and it seems as if a real witch’s cauldron can arise when the house is sold out.
In addition, the distances are short, the areas on which the fans are out and about were generously dimensioned, which should make the older generation particularly happy. Furthermore, the arena is run as a non-smoking stadium, as is now internationally the norm. However, there will be separate smoking areas.
Reason to look forward, not only in Upper Austria
Didi Kühbauer’s team completed their first training session in the new arena on Wednesday. The kickers make their way onto the field through a pack of construction workers who still look very busy.
A smiling Keito Nakamura can be found on the sidelines, who “forks” a few balls back and forth with his congenial offensive partner Marin Ljubicic.
The anticipation of the premiere in the new arena is clearly noticeable in the LASK kickers.
Even if it seems to be a race to the last minute: LASK has undoubtedly set a milestone here. Not only for himself, but also for football in Austria. The modern arena plays all “pieces” and sets new standards in several respects.
And the fact that the national team will also be present here should also please the ÖFB fans, who will probably rub their eyes in joy at the much better stadium experience compared to the time-honoured, but long outdated Happel-Oval.
