Datenpol Arena

The Datenpol Arena sits in Maria Enzersdorf. It opened its doors in 1967. The club that calls it home, Admira Wacker, plays here.

Three Austrian Cup finals have been played here, the heaviest nights in the ground's history. The floodlight system that was replaced in 2008 still holds up, though not without a reminder: in 2016, a match against FC Slovan Liberec went dark for forty-five minutes when the lights failed, leaving players and fans waiting in the gathering dusk. A new all-seater stand was added in 2013, and under-soil heating was installed two years later to keep the natural grass usable through winter. American football teams from Vienna also use the pitch when the season turns.

What the stand does not show is how the ground earned its reputation. The building itself is unremarkable, a functional bowl with a flat roof and glass-fronted hospitality boxes under the main cantilever. But the moment a team turns to the kids after a heavy defeat, or when the crowd roars them on after a last-minute winner, the place fills with something harder to pin down. The pitch is flat and true, the lines crisp, and the advertising boards along the side carry the names of local businesses that have been here longer than the current squad.