Hoping for financial subsidies The operator “Subculture” wants to expand the skate park in Beuel

Beuel · The skate park in Bonn-Beuel has been in operation for one year. Now its operator Subculture hopes for a subsidy for an expansion in two construction phases.

 Many visitors use the Bonn skate park and not only in summer. In the Rheinaue in Ramersdorf, club members and visitors use the currently 900 square-meter facility.

Many visitors use the Bonn skate park and not only in summer. In the Rheinaue in Ramersdorf, club members and visitors use the currently 900 square-meter facility.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

For more than a year now, the skate park in the Ramersdorf Rheinaue has been in operation on the site of the former youth traffic school. To be more precise, the first construction phase with 900 square metres of space has been completed and is being used intensively. The entire area belongs to the city of Bonn, which has made it available for use by the Subculture association by means of a transfer agreement.

"We are pleased that we as an association have been given these opportunities here," said Jim Romer, chairman of the Subculture association, "because the opportunities in the Rheinaue were and still are very limited.”

Also open in winter

The facility remains open in winter and a sign at the entrance indicates the opening hours. “Snow is the same as rain for us,” says Romer and describes the facility. It is “built so that hardly any water remains standing and the rest, whether water or snow, we sweep away with special brooms or water sliders. Skating in the wet is comparable to aquaplaning when driving a car.” The concrete also dries quickly. Only if it is still raining or snowing at nightfall will the park will be closed earlier, “but then we will immediately announce this via social media,” says Romer. In addition, hardly anyone is here after sunset, even though the place can be partially lit. A lighting system similar to that on football pitches, he says, remains a dream.

In cold weather, the track is used less, says Romer. “If you fall on the concrete It just hurts more when it’s cold.” The use is then condensed to the time between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The café is well used, for example, for events and the annual general meeting of the association is also held there. Currently, the association has almost 150 members. “Here we offer young and not yet so well-known bands an opportunity to perform, which is actively announced via social media.” Incidentally, adds Romer, the word 'subculture' does not stand for an underground culture, but is an abbreviation of 'skate and bike culture'.

And last but not least, the association has a vision, the fulfilment of a dream. Two further construction phases are planned to complete the facility. An estimated 600,000 euros are still required for this. As the operator of the skate park, the club would like to apply next year to the state sports federation called Modern Sports Facilities 2022 for a support programme. “Then we would have the chance to receive up to 80 per cent of the planned construction costs,” says Romer. The association Beton für Bonn is also collecting donations for the expansion of the skate park.

(Original test; By Rainer Schmidt, translation John Chandler)

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort