Impetus for Handball West Vienna: New hall urgently required!

Impetus for Handball West Vienna: New hall urgently required!

A lot has happened around handball in Vienna in the last few months. Handball West Vienna, the club that won its sixth Austrian championship title in 2023, is determined to build on this success. But economic challenges led to the withdrawal from the HLA professional league, but that wasn't the end for the talented players. In 2024, they were promoted back to the 2024/25 championship league, and the new board, consisting of Thomas Ruzek, Konradpfadenhauer, Veronika Korbei and Roland Marouschek, has big plans for the club's future.

Handball West Vienna's focus is primarily on its own offspring, for which around 250 young talents are actively supported. A central goal is to increase the presence in the home districts of Hietzing and Penzing. The training sessions and games are currently being held at various locations in Vienna, including the Union Sports Center in Altgasse for the younger ones and the HTL Ottakring for the older ones. The professional team plays its games in the Wiener Stadthalle, while the training facility is in Liesing.

The need for a new sports facility

Despite the efforts, however, a major problem arises: the hall in Altgasse is too narrow for official competitions and does not offer the facilities that would be necessary for sport. Therefore it is loud MyDistrict There is an urgent need for a modern multi-purpose hall in the west of Vienna, especially in the 13th and 14th districts. In this way, the club could develop its full potential and at the same time gather a larger community around it.

With a view to the future, those responsible for the club have also made the city of Vienna responsible. They are calling for more support for the sport in order to attract not only their own fans but also new viewers. A joint commitment could lead to the sports climate in Hietzing and Penzing noticeably improving and more children and young people becoming enthusiastic about handball.

Vienna and the sports facility development plan

But when there is a demand for a new sports facility, the City of Vienna can point to the correct provision of funds. In October 2020, the city launched an extensive investment program to modernize and expand more than 24 club sports facilities and over 3 circular sports halls. As part of the sports facility development plan, around 400 million euros are available with the aim of renovating existing facilities and creating new, modern sports facilities to enable wider use. Innovative measures such as the use of waste heat and energy-saving technologies contain the ambitious plan wien.gv.at reported.

With a clear goal of making sports facilities accessible to all Viennese, regardless of gender, income, origin or age, the future of sports in the city will be decisively influenced not only by the strong commitment of clubs like Handball West Wien, but also by the opportunities opened up by the sports facility development plan.

For anyone interested, there is ongoing news on the official Handball West Vienna club website handball-westwien.at.

The sport of handball in Vienna has a lot of potential, and with the right push, a new hall could not only improve training and games, but also rekindle enthusiasm for the sport throughout the region.