Flexenarena in Zürs: Rauch wants a refund – Lech

The operators of the “Flexenarena” in Lech-Zürs have apparently committed a number of violations of the law in the course of the World Cup construction and training course. There are five screens in total. The snow deposit, changes to the terrain, a presumed access route and parts of the lighting system were installed without permission, as can be seen in the response to the query from Provincial Councilor Johannes Rauch (Greens) and Provincial Councilor Martina Rüscher (ÖVP) to the Greens.

The construction of the line was approved by the state government without the votes of the Greens and with 1.3 million funds. Following the current accusations against the operator, Environment Councilor Johannes Rauch (Greens) tells Vorarlberg Today that he wants to claim these funds. “Anyone who gives false information about housing or welfare subsidies has to pay the money back, and this is how I would do it in this case too. So anyone who knowingly did not comply with the legal requirements, in my opinion, has lost the right to subsidy “. Interview with Rauch.

As Governor Wallner stated on the sidelines of the press lobby on Tuesday, he is keeping his word regarding the funding of Flexenarena. However, only what is approved will be funded. Financing is agreed in four-year tranches starting in 2020/21. If all the permits are in place, the money can flow, not before. Wallner highlights as positive aspects the return of World Cup racing to Vorarlberg and a permanent training track for the youngsters.

The Flexenarena should have been baptized with fire on November 13 and 14 with the implementation of the Alpine World Cup competitions. Due to the lack of snow, the parallel competitions scheduled for women and men had to be postponed to November 26 and 27. The possibility of the races taking place depends more on the snow than on the criminal proceedings: the first notification of the penalty is not expected for three months.

During the construction of the facility, Ski-Zürs-AG, as a project applicant, restrained the horse from behind, so to speak, because none of the measures were approved at the beginning of construction. According to the response to the investigation, the authorities were informed about excavations at the end of August 2020. Photographs of the same “indicated that the changes in the terrain were already measures for the realization of the Flexenarena.” On August 26, after an inspection, there was an official construction freeze. Two days later, the nature, water and forest conservation permits for the facility were issued and the construction notice revoked.

On September 16, the Alpe Zürs farming community denounced the previously unapproved construction of a “cattle drive”; critics see it as access to the pump station. At that point the road was already finished. To date, there has been no approval for this. There is also no building permit for the floodlighting system, because the construction of the foundations of the masts required a zoning of the municipality of Lech, which has not yet existed. Furthermore, operators requested a snow deposit in April and authorities found this snow deposit when a local inspection was conducted in mid-August. In addition, in violation of the ruling, before November 1, snowmaking began on the route.