Franz Horr Stadium

Not to be confused with the Generali Arena in Prague.

Franz Horr Stadium
Franz-Horr-Stadion
The Generali Arena in July 2018
Map
Full nameGenerali Arena
Viola Park (UEFA matches)
Former namesČeské-srdce-Platz
Franz-Horr-Stadion (1974–2011)
Austria Arena (UEFA matches, until 2018)
LocationVienna, Austria
Coordinates48°9′44″N 16°23′12″E / 48.16222°N 16.38667°E / 48.16222; 16.38667
Capacity17,500 (domestic matches)
15,000 (international and European matches)[1]
Opened30 August 1925 (1925-08-30)
Tenants
Austria Vienna (1973–2016, 2018–present)
Vienna Vikings (2022–present)
Slovan Vienna (1925–c. 1945)

The Franz Horr Stadium, formally known as Generali Arena for sponsorship reasons and Viola Park for international matches, is an association football stadium in the south of Vienna, Austria.

It has been the home ground of FK Austria Wien since 1973.

History

The stadium was built in 1925 as the new home of Czech immigrants' club SK Slovan and had a capacity of 10,850.[2] Named after another Czech football club which owned the ground, the stadium was called České srdce ("Czech heart") ground. Largely destroyed during World War II, each of the four stands has been reconstructed several times since.

After the war the AC Slovan Wien, who were even promoted to the A-League in 1950, moved to the Red Star Square in the west of the city. The cinder track around the playing field temporarily found a new purpose in hosting motorcycle speedway races. The stadium hosted a qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1960.[3][4]Under the new provisional name ASKÖ-X-Platz, mainly small lower league teams played in the renovated stadium again.

From 1961 under the patronage of the Vienna Football Association, which took over the stadium and renamed it WFV Stadium. The stadium was later renamed Franz-Horr-Stadion in honour of the Wiener Fußball-Verband's (Vienna Football Association) president Franz Horr (1913–1974), who died in 1974.

In 2008 and between 2016 and 2018 the East, West and North stands were completely reconstructed as two-tier stands. The North stand also includes a new Top-VIP area. After these modifications, the stadium's maximum capacity is now 17,600.

In January 2011, the stadium was renamed Generali Arena, as part of a sponsorship deal between FK Austria Wien and the insurance group Generali. Since UEFA does not recognize sponsored stadium names, the venue is referred to as Viola Park in European competitions,[5] after previously called the Austria Arena.[2] It was originally planned to host the 2020 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, but that match was moved to Anoeta Stadium in San Sebastián due to adjustments caused by COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Home of Austria Wien". fk-austria.at. Austria Wien. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage statistics handbook – Clubs participating continued" (PDF). UEFA. 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ "1960 World Championship". Metal Speedway. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  4. ^ "1960 World Championship". Speedway.org. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Who will succeed Lyon: road to Vienna". UEFA. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  6. ^ "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.