A Bavarian entrepreneur discovered his love for Salzburg Austria. Max Aicher wants to build and give a stadium to the city of Salzburg for free. But there are a few catches. The fans are now running a petition for the construction of the stadium.

It was a coming fairy tale that ended in disaster: After Red Bull took over the old Salzburg Austria, the violet fans founded a new club called Austria Salzburg. The story is known. The new club makes it into the 2nd division. The climb too fast. The “new” violets slipped into bankruptcy and the sporting insignificance that came with it.

In the past few years, new people have taken the helm and things are now going reasonably well for the people of Mozartstadt, both in terms of sport. The debts are paid off quickly. The five-digit amount will be paid back to the patrons and friends of Austria over the next one to two years. In the championship, Austria reached second place in the Salzburg Regionalliga, behind St. Johann im Pongau and WILL THEREFORE match St. Johann and the two best teams from Tyrol and Vorarlberg in spring. According to the club’s management, advancement is realistic in two years at the earliest.

Because the violets have a completely different, more serious problem: their system in Salzburg-Maxglan will have to be rebuilt by the 2024/25 season at the latest. The floodlights no longer meet the latest standards and the fan stand, on which the Ultras and other fan groups have found their home, then fall victim to housing construction. The site in Maxglan belongs to the Stiegl brewery and further residential units are planned here. “Then we will no longer have floodlights and only space for around 600 fans,” says Austria chairman Claus Salzmann.

A billionaire sponsor from Bavaria

(c) Max Aicher

However, Salzburger Austria has a Bavarian patron who has made a name for himself in the construction industry over the past decade. It’s Max Aicher, a proud 87 years old. His company has an annual turnover of around 1.5 billion euros. He is the main sponsor of Austria and has now presented a new project that is causing discussions throughout Salzburg. Max Aicher will build a new stadium for Austria. Not only that. The major project will also include 428 apartments. And that very close to the arena in Wals-Siezenheim, so despised by Austria fans.

428 apartments and a stadium with 5000 seats

The stadium is to be built in Liefering, right next to the motorway. Max Aicher will donate the stadium to the city of Salzburg. In addition to Austria, the Salzburg Ducks footballers will also play their AFL games there. Salzburg’s mayor Harald Preuner (ÖVP) has already given the project an early rejection. The implementation is not feasible. The politicians of the other parties held back on this. It is clear, however, that the apartments, if they should really be realized, will not be used as speculative objects – that is the common tenor of the political groups. In addition, there are problems with the rededication and the proximity to the motorway as well as the question of whether people really want to live above a stadium.

Petition and Last Exit Grödig

Meanwhile, the fans of the Salzburg Ducks and Austria launched a petitionto make the dream of your own stadium a reality. But what are the alternatives of Austria, should the sporting and financial rehabilitation continue as successfully as before? The answer is the stadium in Grödig. The arena there is suitable for the Bundesliga and has space for around 5,000 fans. It also borders directly on the state capital Salzburg. Austria’s chairman Claus Salzmann: “I have already talked to Sports Minister Stefan Schnöll about whether we could move to Grödig if the project in Liefering does not work.”

(c) Austria Salzburg / Max Aicher