Wels: Three million euros in funding for PSV’s new home and shooting range

It’s a done deal: The Police Sports Club (PSV) will receive around three million euros from the city of Wels to replace its 60-year-old clubhouse and shooting range with a new building. In addition to Neos and MFG, who had already declared their support in advance, the SPÖ also voted for the FPÖ’s plans at the last municipal council meeting before the summer on Monday, thus securing a comfortable majority.

Specifically, two million euros will be paid out directly in the form of a grant. The city of Wels will buy the property from PSV for another million. However, the PSV can build the new home on the property through a building lease agreement and use it free of charge for 80 years.

Criticism of costs and timing

Criticism came in advance from two parties: The ÖVP complained that the funding should be decided before the summer. Mayor Andreas Rabl and sports representative Vice Mayor Gerhard Kroiß (both FP) have announced a sports facility concept for the autumn. This is intended to determine which facilities in Wels will be renovated and when. “Giving priority to PSV now is unfair and dubious,” said VP parliamentary group leader Markus Wiesinger on Monday. Many other clubs also have problems with financing renovations.

The Greens particularly criticized the amount of funding. “With 350 shooters in the PSV, we spend 10,000 euros per person,” said city councilor Thomas Rammerstorfer (Greens) yesterday. In addition, shooting sports have less social and health policy relevance than other sports.

“The city can easily afford it”

Mayor Rabl countered that the city could “easily” afford the support without taking on new debt. “We are also ensuring that this area will be preserved for sport for decades to come,” said the mayor. Sports representative Kroiß, who abstained from the vote as president of the PSV and left the room, had involved all parties in the discussions. “If we wait until autumn, there is a risk that funding commitments from the state and federal government will expire. In addition, we have already supported sports clubs as needed in the past,” said Rabl. There is also enough money for the other clubs.

A finished overall concept would have been better, said SP representative Karl Schönberger: “But we have also spent similar amounts on tennis facilities in the past.” In the long term, the project makes sense, said Schönberger, justifying his group’s approval.

In total, the new clubhouse and the shooting hall are expected to cost around 4.9 million euros. In addition to the city, the state and federal government are also providing funding. Part of the funding process was also a cost containment measure; the project was originally expected to cost more than seven million euros.

The new shooting hall will provide the necessary conditions to host national and international competitions. A facility for archers will also be built. The police sports club has around 1,100 members, around 350 of whom belong to the shooting sports section.