On October 28, 2025, a congress on the topic of "How can ice rinks CO22-neutral and yet economically and in line with demand" took place at the specialist event of the German Ice Hockey Federation (Deutscher Eishockey-Bund eV).DEB) in cooperation with the Ice Hockey Association of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS), and the German Ice Skating Union (DEU). Nine speakers presented ideas, concepts, and case studies in their lectures at the Koelnmesse Congress Centre.
Frank H. Lutz, Chairman of the Board of Directors DEB, welcomed the more than 100 people present in the auditorium. After further introductory remarks, including those from Dr. Christiane Schenderlein, Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Sport and Volunteering and a video message from Viesturs Koziols, IIHF Council Member, Facilities Committee Chairman, gave Dr. Christian Raffer The German Institute for Urban Affairs provided an overview of the state of German sports facilities and found that while the perceived investment backlog was increasing, the actual condition of the infrastructure was very heterogeneous. A similar view was also held by... Uwe SchlenkerThe architect from Schwenningen raised the question of how ice rinks must be equipped in the next 30 years to meet the challenges of the future.
Thomas RückerThe vice president of the co-organizer, the German Ice Skating Union (Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V.), presented ideas for regional ice sports centers that should specialize in ice sports rather than multifunctional use. Before the lunch break, he laid Dr. Ralf Möller The presentation will cover potential applications of heat pumps in the context of ice rinks, which have high heating demands. The conversion of the technical systems and the associated energy efficiency improvements at the Stuttgart Ice World will be explained. Michael Sigler in his article.
In the afternoon, insights into regional best-practice examples were presented. Thanks to close coordination between the municipality and clubs, the city of Krefeld was able to initiate the construction of a new building with two ice rinks and a multi-purpose hall in a short period of time. In Peißenberg, Bavaria, the continued existence of the ice sports hall was secured through extensive volunteer work. The Hamm ice sports arena has organized itself as a cooperative, thus guaranteeing the operation of the facility. And in Kassel, the local hall is to be developed into an energy-self-sufficient, multi-functional arena.
Thorsten Licht, DEB-Men's competitive sports officer: "We are very pleased with the high number of participants. It also underscores the great importance of the issues surrounding ice rinks in Germany and how strong the need for exchange and information is. It is also worth highlighting that noticeable progress has already been initiated in Germany and important developments have been set in motion."
Many thanks go to Rainer Maedge, Honorary President and Event Coordinator of the Ice Hockey Federation Nordrhein-WestfalenHe meticulously planned and shaped the last five congresses of this kind with great time and attention to detail. Maedge announced that he will no longer be involved as a planner in two years, but very much hopes that this important series of events will continue.
The DEB-Chairman of the Board Frank H. Lutz The event concluded late in the afternoon with the words: "Today I learned that every problem is different. Every situation requires a different approach and therefore an individual solution."
Save the Date: As part of the next FSB trade fair, which will take place in Cologne from Tuesday, October 26th to Friday, October 29th, 2027, there will again be a specialist congress on the topic sustainable ice rinks organized.
