Berlin – Sometimes the queue that forms in front of the Neukölln ice rink extends as far as the Oderstrasse – nerve-wracking. The waiting time is long, and on the one hand this is due to the fact that admission takes longer because the corona hygiene requirements have to be checked. On the other hand, it is also because the sports facility not far from the Hermannstrasse train station is experiencing an unexpected rush. Almost 20 percent more visitors than in the pre-Corona year 2019, the district office reported on Friday.
The Neukölln town hall has an explanation for this “run”: The Neukölln ice rink is currently the only ice rink in the four million city of Berlin where you can get ice skates for hire. That is true at least for the state-operated plants.
Public run in Hohenschönhausen not before the end of January
Two ice sports facilities have not even opened this winter season: The Horst Dohm Stadium in Wilmersdorf remains closed for the entire season due to technical problems. The public lane in the Hohenschönhausen Sportforum will also continue to be built; the opening planned for December has now been completed. “The ice skating season will not start before the end of January or the beginning of February,” the operator now announced.
The Charlottenburg ice rink P09 at the Olympic Stadium is now canceled for the common skater, it is currently only open to club athletes. The district office of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf announced that sports funding is checking how time can be given to public ice skating and how corona-related requirements can be met at the same time.
All that remains is the Erika Hess ice rink in Wedding. But the ice skate rental there has been closed since November 24th. The reason is the current hygiene protection ordinance, announced the Mitte district. The operator of the skate rental company “deeply regrets this step,” says the press release. Alternative possibilities are currently being examined at full speed.
In Neukölln you notice that the other ice rinks are not available or only to a limited extent. Almost 40,400 visitors have passed the turnstile at the entrance so far, around 5800 more than in the same period in 2019, announced the district office. “The lessee of the ice skate rental is very satisfied with the business,” said the press office. However, at times there were unacceptable jostling in front of the counter where the ice skates are handed out.
With an online ticket system, the Neukölln district is now trying to get a grip on the problem with the long queue at the entrance. As of Monday, visiting the ice rink will only be possible via digital booking of time slots, the Neukölln district office announced on Friday. “The booking only leads to the reservation of a time slot, the ticket itself continues to be paid for at the cash desk”, the press release says.
Opening times & prices
- Address: The Neukölln ice rink is located at Oderstraße 182; it is about ten minutes on foot from the Hermannstrasse underground and suburban railway station.
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, on Christmas Day 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm. On New Years 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Entrance fees: Adults pay 3.30 euros per term, children, schoolchildren, trainees, unemployed and welfare recipients 1.60 euros.
- Corona requirements: Adults must either be vaccinated (QR code digital or printed out) or have recovered. Mask compulsory beyond the ice surfaces. From Monday, a time slot ticket must be booked in advance. At: https://eisstadion-neukoelln.rentware.io/
Sports Councilor Karin Korte hopes that not only will the long queues be a thing of the past, but that the ice-skating fans will also have the security that they will really get into the ice rink in the chosen time slot. “With the changeover to the new booking system, the hygiene concept will be easier to implement and entry into the stadium will be accelerated,” said the City Councilor for Sports. When booking the time slots online, your name, address and telephone number must already be given, so that all data is available that is necessary for follow-up in the event of a corona case. Stadium director Andreas Miers is also confident that things will now “go faster at the cash desk” in the future.
dpa
The ice surfaces are mechanically renewed several times a day.
Unlike the ticket system of the Berliner Bäderbetriebe, the online ice ticket is not paid for digitally, which means that visitors at the cash box have to put EUR 3.30 per adult (EUR 1.60 for children) in the coin drawer. The 2G rules still apply in the ice rink, although employees of a security company are responsible for monitoring them. With them, visitors must show the QR code for the vaccination (digital or printed) or proof of recovery.
Number of visitors limited to 400
At the opening of the season, this was also the task of the checkout staff, which further delayed admission. As a result, there were “frequent verbal and physical attacks on our ice rink staff”, as the city councilor stated on November 18th. Because of these attacks, the police and the public order office were on the scene several times in those days. The district then closed the ice rink for several days and hired a security company, which has since checked that the corona protective measures are being observed. “In the meantime, calm has returned, the situation has relaxed, our cashiers are safe,” says Bärbel Ruben from the district press office.
With the introduction of the online booking system from Monday, the number of visitors to the Neukölln ice rink will also be limited: a maximum of 400 ice skating fans are allowed in the ice rink per time slot, announced the district office. So far there has been no official upper limit.
In addition to the state-operated ice rinks, there are not only mobile systems at the Christmas markets, but also privately operated ones with ice skate rental – such as the one in Lankwitz or two on the banks of Lake Müggelsee. The newest is an ice surface in a white tent in the Charlottenburger Trakehner Allee not far from the Olympic Stadium. It is operated by a plant center.
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