The history of Klosterneuburg Happyland has always been turbulent. It was built between 1978 and the early 80s. Due to the always high running costs of the sports and leisure center, little to no investment was made in its maintenance in the decades up to 2014. The municipality therefore had to dig deep into its pockets to carry out a general renovation from 2014 to 2016. This was under a bad star. Cost overruns when reducing the renovation plan were the effect of many errors and inconsistencies during the renovation, which are still being discussed in the local council today – especially by local councilor Peter Hofbauer (list Peter Hofbauer). At the beginning of 2018, Wolfgang Ziegler took over the helm of the leisure and sports temple and since taking over, Happyland has been looking up again. At least in terms of usage and offerings. The costs are rising. Managing Director Wolfgang Ziegler spoke about all of this to the local council and looked back on the year 2023.
The managing director is particularly proud of the revenue, which will rise to 2.4 to 2.5 million euros. The bathroom takes on a large part of this: in absolute terms, 780,000 euros more were collected in 2023. “Sales revenue has more than doubled within the last ten years – from 2013 before the renovation to 2023 – with inflation of 32 percent. “That means that the owner’s decision to invest in Happyland was the right one,” says Managing Director Ziegler, describing the success of his work.
But like many things, this matter also has two sides, because there is a lot going on on the cost side. The costs have risen at a similar rate as the revenues. “The increases in costs can be attributed almost one to one to the striking increases in the energy sector,” says Ziegler.
Revenues have doubled over the last ten years.” Wolfgang Ziegler, Happyland managing director
Although no gas has been used in Happyland for 25 years, only electricity and district heating, energy costs have risen to 884,000 euros compared to the previous year (465,000 euros). Around 20 percent of the amount of energy has been saved since 2018. The aim is to counteract this with an adaptation of the electricity supply contract with Wien Energie from August 2023 and with the energy cost subsidy II, which was applied for in a timely manner and promised at the end of November 2023.
And Happyland is still on a savings trip. “Saving measures will continue in winter 2023/24 and investments will continue to be made in optimizing ventilation and heat use,” promises Ziegler. And with the pen, discussions about a new district heating contract should start from 2025.
What will the New Year 2024 bring to Happyland? The sauna area will be revitalized in two stages – the first in 2024, the second in 2025. In order to achieve the optimum and increase efficiency, the bathroom should be dehumidified and additional ventilation measures should be implemented. The pleasing increase in visitors should not only be maintained but also increased. Ziegler: “The increase in visitors to the pool was achieved with some small improvement measures.” In addition, the opening times of the pool and sauna are being successively optimized. The pool would be available to visitors 84 hours a week. According to Ziegler’s report, this is a top value compared to other pools in Austria.
The clubs are a very special concern for the managing director, who used to be an athlete himself. Ten clubs, some of them very large, are active in Happyland: “In 2023, great sporting successes were achieved in the youth and adult sectors.” Ziegler particularly highlights the support of young talent and the many events in the clubs in his report.
“In 2023, great sporting successes were achieved in Happyland,” says managing director Wolfgang Ziegler.
Photo:
Happyland, Martin Wa
A completely new Happyland branch – established in 2023 – is the fitness area. 30 courses per week for aqua and body fitness are offered here.
And managing director Wolfgang Ziegler concluded: “In my opinion, Happyland fulfills very important tasks for the Klosterneuburg population in the areas of health, sport and leisure. Every Klosterneuburg school child learns to swim and ice skate in Happyland.” Happyland is the training and home venue for a number of very successful sports clubs. In these clubs, many children and young people are looked after regularly and very professionally. The pool, including the year-round wave pool, which is unique in the Vienna area, and the ice skating rink are available for families. Fitness courses, a sauna and indoor and outdoor tennis courts are also offered for adults and the older generation.
And what does the future look like in Happyland? “In any case, we are continuing the process of constant development and improvement. We want the broadest possible consent from citizens for what we do. If visitor satisfaction is high and the image is good, then more visitors come,” concludes Ziegler.
