A satellite image of Vienna shows where the EURO Hall of Fame and headquarters office will be located.  Click to enlarge.

A plan to construct a EURO League Hall of Fame with a yearly induction of players has been announced by commissioner Chuck Massaro.

The Hall of Fame will be built a block away from league headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and construction is expected to be complete in time for an induction ceremony following the completion of Season 4.

To facilitate the move, league secretary Rose has consented to move from the current office at 5 Domgasse to an adjacent smaller building which fronts Schulerstrasse and will face one side of the Hall of Fame building.  Rose said she would like some help moving items around the block and any GMs who lend a hand will be rewarded. She did not say what the reward would be exactly, but she did smile and raise her eyebrows twice in quick succession.

Vienna city officials have asked the league to move from 5 Domgasse so that they can tell people Mozart lived there from 1784-87, thereby giving the city a steady flow of tourism dollars.

The Hall of Fame will be housed in an existing building that stretches the length of Strobelgasse, between Schulerstrasse and Wollzeile. Currently, the building is vacant. It’s most recent use was as a short-lived retail shop which specialized in Chris Patton-autographed memorabilia. Commissioner Massaro said that while the building had fallen into disrepair during its time as The Chris Patton Shoppe – damage included several broken windows as well as fire and smoke damage from several attempted arsons – repairs are feasible.

“We should have enough money left over from what Michael Banker contributed toward the Referees Retirement Fund during the last playoffs,” the commissioner said.

The league expects to make some of the money back through a gift shop in the Hall of Fame which will feature EURO League merchandise such as team jerseys and apparel, DVDs, posters, cards, pucks, sticks, stuffed Smurf dolls, ouzo from The Terry Moutafis Collection and baked goods from Rose’s kitchen.

Tourists to Mozart’s house and the Hall of Fame will also be able to take in other nearby attractions, such at St. Stephens Cathedral, the trendy Dom-Beisl bistro and Figlmuller’s, a restaurant constructed in 1905 that is “known for its schnitzel.”

Player inductions

Beginning right after the Season 4 Cup Finals, all GMs will be able to vote on who should be inducted into the Hall. A ballot of 8 to 10 retired players will be presented in a poll and their statistics and exploits will be detailed on the league blog.  Players who attain a yet-to-be determined minimum number of vote/points will gain induction into the Hall of Fame.