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The City of Vienna has agreed a deal to acquire the Generali Arena from Bundesliga football club FK Austria Wien.
Austrian newspaper Die Presse notes that an independent expert report has valued the stadium at €42.3m (£35.3m/$45.8m). The acquisition will be valued at €39.4m after eligible construction subsidies have been deducted.
Austria Wien will be required to pay an annual fee of €1.4m to the city to continue using the 17,500-capacity Generali Arena. The acquisition of the stadium is set to be approved by the Vienna City Council on April 23.
The club will continue to bear responsibility for operating the stadium, but the city will control the facility through the MA 51 – Sport Wien entity.
The City of Vienna revealed in December that its Sports Department was assessing a transfer agreement for the stadium, arguing that it plays an important role for the capital and the wider Viennese sporting scene, as well as the football club.
Peter Hacker, City Councillor for Sport, said of the concluded agreement: “The city’s departments have done excellent work in recent weeks. We have reached agreement with Austria Wien on the terms and conditions and can now implement our announcements from December. I would like to thank the city’s finance department and real estate management for their excellent cooperation.
“The Austria Wien stadium is one of the city’s most important sports venues. My goal was and remains to secure this important infrastructure and guarantee that it benefits Viennese sports in the long term.
“However, one thing is also clear: the city’s willingness to take over the stadium is tied to very strict rules. These include by far the highest rent of any Austrian Bundesliga club and use beyond the club’s professional division and football.”
It emerged in November 2023 that Austria Wien was considering selling Generali Arena to address its financial issues. It came after the club posted a loss of €6.85m for the 2022-23 financial year.
Generali Arena has served as Austria Wien’s home stadium since 1973. Between 2016 and 2018, the stadium underwent major redevelopment work, which was financed by the club.
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