Sporthauptschule Linz Kleinmünchen

Linz has a football ground that opened in the summer of 2023 for the Austrian Bundesliga side, while the city's other major venue was also rebuilt after being torn down. But on Meindlstraße there is a place that is not for football at all. It is a school, though it is also where the professionals play.

The building is called the Sportmittelschule Linz-Kleinmünchen. A photograph shows a match in progress on a pitch that looks like any other school field in the suburbs, but it is not a football pitch. The court is indoors. The light is artificial and the air is still. The players are wearing handball kits. The activity on the grass in the picture is a distraction; the real action is inside. The hall has held 1,200 spectators for the Austrian women's national team during a European qualifier. The place is not a temple of the beautiful game; it is a classroom that learned to host a crowd.

HC Linz AG play here. The stadium fell silent when the final whistle blew. The school itself is the story. It was founded in 1970 before moving into this building in 1979. It was renamed Sportmittelschule in 2020 after a €14.7 million renovation completed in 2022.

The football ground down the road was demolished in 2021 and rebuilt; this one was renovated. The pitch is natural grass for the footballers, but the handballers play on a synthetic court. The capacity is small, but the crowd was there. The school has produced 100 state champions in its first 50 years. The players are not out for the season; they are out on the playground.