European Championships
June 10, 2007
Construction sites are the most visible sign that in a year's time Austria will be staging the biggest sports event in the country since the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck.
The country has invested some136 million euros ($182 millions) in upgrading three existing stadiums in Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg, and is building one from scratch in Klagenfurt.
An additional 133 million euros were invested in the event itself.
The country expects a gross domestic product (GDP) increase from the event of 0.15 percent, creating 321 million euros in additional wealth. Austria's tourism industry expects one million extra overnight stays.
Getting a face-lift
Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadium is almost ready to host the final.
The 75-year-old stadium, equipped to hold 50,000, will be reopened on Sept.11 with a friendly against Chile.
The stadiums in Salzburg and Innsbruck, both being currently expanded to seat around 30,000 each, will also be ready by this autumn.
The Salzburg stadium, close to the baroque Klessheim palace, was strongly opposed by local residents, fearing traffic chaos and the destruction of cultural heritage. It remains unclear whether rebuilding it to a smaller size after the tournament, as promised to the residents, will go ahead.
Klagenfurt's stadium was the biggest challenge. The 32,000-seat stadium, the only one built completely from scratch, almost endangered Austria's host role as a result of planning problems. Now everything is on schedule, organizers say.
German expertise
Security at the tournament will focus on international police cooperation. Talks are taking place with potential participant countries on how to deal best with the fan influx and to exchange information. Austria has already requested logistic support from Germany, which can draw on the experience of last year's World Cup.
Austria's parliament is also expected to approve an amendment to Austria's police laws, allowing pre-emptive arrests of known hooligans.
Austria's host cities all had their concepts for fan zones and public viewing areas approved by UEFA, while many other cities are preparing their own football zones.
In Vienna, where a fan zone is planned along part of the Ringstrasse, not everyone is happy. Residents fear that blocking one of the city's major lifelines will lead to large-scale traffic chaos and interfere with performances in at least one major theater.
Organizers are still working on raising public enthusiasm for the event, initiating a road-show called 'Euromania,' an Internet platform and from April to July 2008 the exhibition 'Fascination Football' in Vienna. Tournament-organized promotion tours will start in spring 2008 -- and organizers say a top priority is to include residents and local business in the preparations.