Ombudswoman Stoisits criticizes closing of sports ground near Schönbrunn
The City of Vienna commits grave procedural errors during the closure of a sports ground near the Schönbrunn Castle
The Austrian Ombudsman Board has controlled a complaint raised by a citizens’ group concerning the closure of the sports facility “Unionssportzentrum (USZ) Schönbrunn”. The complaint has been justified. The popular sports ground close to the underground station Schönbrunn closed on the 31st of August 2012. The Vienna sport ground law prescribes that an alternative sports ground has to be provided by the applicant, but this did not occur. “The application for closure, and the procedure itself, contained many substantial errors”, explains Terezija Stoisits, Chairwoman of the Austrian Ombudsman Board.
The „Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.h.“ (red.: Company responsible for managing Schönbrunn Castle) applied for the closure to install a new entry to the castle. The City Administration Department 51 granted the application in 2010. A precondition for granting the application was to provide a replacement facility. The area of the new Economics University in Vienna’s second district was selected for the replacement sports ground. Since the construction of the new university was delayed, the City Administration recognized the sports ground “Sensengasse”, in Vienna’s ninth district, as an equal replacement.
The recognition of both sports ground was not according to law. It is required that the replacement facility is within the “catchment area”. The approved replacement grounds, located in the second and ninth district, are nearly at the other end of the capital city. The mayor justified this by pointing at the “existing public transport system” in the capital. “The commuting time is too long, especially for many young athletes”, criticizes Ombudswoman Stoisits. “The replacement sports grounds should not have been accepted by the City Administration Department”, continues Stoisits.
Furthermore, the Austrian Ombudsman Board criticizes the insufficient explanatory statement from the City of Vienna, as well as the fragmentary inclusion of the Vienna Sport Council in the decision making process. The inadequate information provided by the City Administration for involved citizens and athletes is objectionable as well.
“The athletes are gravely affected. Due to the closure the situation of youth, mass and elite sports has declined even further”, closes Stoisits.