The symposium “The country needs new ice rinks, more urgently than ever!” attracted over 100 participants to the Cologne trade fair. The symposium took place on November 05, 2019 with renowned speakers as part of the international trade fair for open space, sports and exercise facilities. The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) and the ice hockey association Nordrhein-Westfalen eV (EHV-NRW) invited representatives of ice hockey clubs and sports associations, politics and the construction industry as well as financiers, project developers and other interested parties from home and abroad to an intensive exchange.
After the welcome from the DEB-President Franz Reindl and the welcoming speech by Frank Gonzalez (International Ice Hockey Federation) and Matthias Pollmann (Cologne Trade Fair), the informative lectures began on the two main topics "Ice hockey clubs often have wishes and activities for new ice rinks to be built or renovated - what is possible?" and "Financing, subsidies and operating models". This was followed by a panel discussion with Franz Reindl, Rainer Maedge (EHV-NRW) and other speakers.
The DEB and the EHV NRW are pleased about a successful event that generated many new ideas and suggestions on how the ice rink emergency in Germany can be reduced.
Franz Reindl, DEB-President: “Our initiative is gaining momentum! Currently, around 40 ice surface projects have been initiated in Germany or are currently being planned. In the medium term, we have the vision that we will need 50 additional new ice surfaces in order to be able to cover the needs and infrastructural requirements for ice sports. The event was a further step into the future with many very good contributions. My thanks also go to the EHV NRW with Rainer Maedge at the helm for their great commitment.”
Rainer Maedge, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Ice Hockey Association: “With the choice of topic 'Examples of the problem of so-called small ice rinks from the perspective of clubs as well as financial support options and operating models', we were obviously right - as the response after the event shows. We should continue to hold this event as part of the FSB in the future.”
The symposium presentations for download:
-> CBH Lawyers | Associations as builders
-> Team sports Germany | The sports facility infrastructure from a federal political perspective
-> State Sports Association Sachsen | Club advice on financing sports facilities and ice rinks
-> NRW BANK | Funding and financing options for sports facilities
The photos of the event (photos: Messe Köln):
