Schwarzenegger Stadium in Austria to be renamed: report

Dec 15, 2005, 13:47 GMT

Graz - The Arnold Schwarzenegger Football Stadium in Austria's second-largest city Graz is to be renamed as a sign of displeasure with the city's most famous son, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

A majority of members on Graz City Council voted to rename the stadium after the Austrian-born governor of California approved the execution earlier this week of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, according to Kleine Zeitung.

The Terminator-turned-governor was born six kilometres outside Graz in the community of Thal.

Representatives from the Social Democrats (SP), the Greens and the Communist Party (KP), traditionally strong in Graz, joined forces to push through the proposal, despite the objection of Mayor Siegfried Nagl of the conservative People's Party (VP).

'It's getting on our nerves that we're again and again being criticized for Schwarzenegger's actions in California,' said SP Vice Mayor Welter Ferk.

'We're not exactly basking in glory for being brought into the public limelight in connection with the death penalty. Therefore I'm in favour of renaming the stadium,' he added.

Noting the football stadium would now probably be named after a major sponsor, fellow SP politician Wolfgang Riedler said, 'We at least get money for it.'

Another initiative to strip Schwarzenegger of honorary citizenship of Thal failed after a proposal tabled by the Greens was rejected by the local council on Wednesday evening.