Top 10 Stadiums in Austria
Austrian football's stadium infrastructure was significantly upgraded for UEFA Euro 2008, co-hosted with Switzerland. Vienna and Salzburg in particular gained modernised grounds, and the Austrian Bundesliga clubs in Graz, Innsbruck and Linz have followed in the years since. The list below covers the national stadium, the major club venues, and the regional grounds that define Austrian football outside the capital. Every stadium is on the map.
1. Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna
Capacity: 50,865. Austria's national stadium in the Prater district of Vienna, opened in 1931 (as Praterstadion) and renamed in 1992 after the legendary Austrian coach Ernst Happel. The stadium hosted the European Cup final three times (1964, 1987, 1990) and the UEFA Euro 2008 final (Spain 1 Germany 0). The historic outer concrete bowl is preserved alongside multiple internal renovations. The stadium is the home of the Austrian national team and is regularly used for Champions League and Europa League matches by visiting Austrian clubs.
2. Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
Capacity: 30,188. FC Red Bull Salzburg's home in the Wals-Siezenheim suburb of Salzburg. Originally opened in 2003 as Wals-Siezenheim Stadium for Euro 2008 hosting consideration, comprehensively expanded for the tournament. Red Bull's transformation of the former SV Austria Salzburg into Europe's most consistent talent-development club has made the Red Bull Arena one of the most-watched grounds in Central European football. Salzburg's Champions League runs since 2018 have brought regular European nights to the venue.
3. Allianz Stadion, Vienna
Capacity: 28,345. SK Rapid Wien's home, opened in 2016 on the site of the demolished Gerhard Hanappi Stadium. Rapid is Austria's most-supported club, with 32 league titles to date. The new Allianz Stadion's design — compact, steep tribunes with the West Stand explicitly designed for the standing Block West supporter section — produces one of Austrian football's strongest atmospheres. The stadium hosts Champions League and Europa League matches when Rapid qualify.
4. Generali-Arena, Vienna
Capacity: 17,656. FK Austria Wien's home in the Favoriten district, comprehensively rebuilt and reopened in 2018. The Generali-Arena (also known as the Franz Horr Stadion historically) is the city's second-largest football venue after the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. The new bowl is intimate and steep, fitting Austria's traditional Vienna-coffeehouse middle-class supporter base which contrasts with Rapid's working-class Hütteldorf heritage.
5. Linzer Stadion (Raiffeisen Arena), Linz
Capacity: 19,080. LASK Linz's home, opened in its current form in 2023 on the site of the historic Linzer Stadion that hosted Linz football since 1952. LASK's rise as a competitive Austrian Bundesliga club in the late 2010s and early 2020s — including UEFA Europa League quarter-final runs — drove the rebuild. The new ground is among Austria's most modern.
6. Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck
Capacity: 16,008. FC Wacker Innsbruck (now defunct after multiple financial collapses) used the Tivoli-Neu, opened in 2000 to replace the older Tivoli Stadium. WSG Tirol, a successor club, currently plays here. The location in Innsbruck — Austria's Alpine sporting capital, also host city for two Winter Olympics — gives the ground a setting unmatched in Austrian football. The Nordkette mountain range rises immediately behind the stadium.
7. Merkur Arena (formerly UPC Arena), Graz
Capacity: 16,364. SK Sturm Graz's and GAK 1902's home in the Liebenau district of Graz, opened in 1997 and renamed multiple times under various sponsorships. Sturm Graz are Austrian Bundesliga regulars and reached the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2000 and 2024. The Graz derby — Sturm versus GAK — was one of Austrian football's traditional rivalries, although GAK's collapses and re-formations have made it intermittent.
8. Schwarzl-See-Stadion, Premstätten (Sturm Graz alternative)
Capacity: 8,750. A smaller secondary venue near Graz used by Sturm Graz reserves and lower-division matches. The location near the Schwarzl See (lake) makes it one of Austrian football's most scenically situated grounds. Not a primary Bundesliga venue but worth noting for the unusual setting.
9. Mondi Arena (Wattens / WSG Tirol), Wattens
Capacity: 5,200. WSG Tirol's secondary venue in the town of Wattens, used historically. The club moved primary operations to the Tivoli in Innsbruck. The Mondi Arena reflects the smaller scale of historical Tyrolean club football and is a useful comparison point to the Innsbruck venues.
10. NV Arena, Sankt Pölten
Capacity: 8,000. SKN St. Pölten's home, opened in 2012. The compact ground in the Lower Austrian capital represents the typical scale of a recently promoted Austrian Bundesliga club — modern, well-built, but moderately sized. SKN St. Pölten have oscillated between the Bundesliga and the second tier in recent seasons.
Euro 2008 and Austria's stadium investment
The co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2008 with Switzerland was the major catalyst for modern Austrian stadium investment. The Ernst-Happel-Stadion (renovated), Red Bull Arena Salzburg (expanded), the Tivoli-Neu in Innsbruck (renovated), and the Wörthersee-Stadion in Klagenfurt (newly built, primarily for the tournament) became the Austrian tournament venues. The Wörthersee-Stadion has struggled with post-tournament use due to the absence of a top-flight Klagenfurt club, although recent rises by SK Austria Klagenfurt have improved matters.
The Austrian Bundesliga
Red Bull Salzburg have dominated the Austrian Bundesliga since the early 2010s, with 10 consecutive titles between 2014 and 2023 before Sturm Graz took the championship in 2023-24. The league has 12 teams playing a split-season format with a championship round of six and a relegation round of six after the regular phase. The competitive level has risen with Red Bull's investment, but the spending gap between Salzburg and the rest of the league is substantial.
The Austrian football tradition
Austrian football's historical peaks — the Wunderteam of the 1930s under Hugo Meisl, the 1954 World Cup semi-final, and FK Austria Wien's three Cup Winners' Cup finals (winning in 1979) — give the country a richer European football heritage than its current league standings might suggest. The talent-development pipeline through Red Bull Salzburg has reinforced Austria's profile in the past decade, producing players who have transferred to Premier League, Bundesliga and Champions League clubs. All venues described are visible on the map.