A ‘beast’ like a 400 meter ice rink does not fit in with the new plans for Kardinge. The facility, which is open ‘only’ four months a year, takes up too much space, meaning the area cannot be optimally developed.
That is the firm belief of Gert van der Veen, owner of the Bjoeks Climbing Center at Kardinge in Groningen. He welcomes plans for housing, a health campus, a new sports center and a green sporting outdoor park. “Something really needs to be done. Look around you. It’s a hodgepodge. Kardinge is a kind of ‘happy nothing’ at the moment.”
Van der Veen is referring to the haphazard interpretation that has arisen in recent decades. “In the beginning there was nothing here. Yes, space that was filled in the first year by an ice rink and rink, a swimming pool and a huge parking lot. Products of the time. The idea was that it should become a sporting and recreational area. How? The market would solve that.”
Moving ice rink
Just like 35 years ago, the ice rink is again the start of a discussion about Kardinge. The municipality of Groningen is questioning the facility due to the high costs for the municipality. The ice skating clubs in the wider region are holding their breath. There are also calls to develop Kardinge without an ice rink and, with the help of financiers and investors, to possibly move it to another location, if necessary outside the municipality.
“I am a big supporter of that,” says Van der Veen. “What are you doing to yourself as a municipality to build a ‘box’ for people who only drive there for a few months a year? Can the municipality also make this cost explicit? Hundred million? Let them come up with the numbers. I want the best for the sport of skating, but in order to continue indoor skating in the 21st century, we need a new concept. Take a look at Rotterdam, where this is possible with a shorter tunnel ice rink, for much less money.”
Van der Veen believes that Kardinge can do without a 400-meter ice rink, even when it comes to sports and exercise. “We have the Kardingebult here. It is here by accident, but it is actually very special. It is one big fitness machine. It costs the municipality nothing at all.”
Lots of campers
Over time, all kinds of things have come here. Van der Veen, who has been running a climbing center for many years, saw it all happen. “There is a gigantic parking lot here to attract visitors. Further on you will see an area where there are often many campers. At least that gives it some life. The sports center is an introspective thing. It’s a big box that you look forward to. It has nothing to do with a beautiful environment.”
The entrepreneur hopes that Kardinge will be overhauled as quickly as possible. “If you want to get the elderly in the city out of their oversized apartments, you have to provide apartments. That is possible here with high-rise buildings, I have nothing against that. It offers space for young families to take over homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
Van der Veen is also interested in a health campus. “We have a major shortage of MBO graduates in healthcare. Education must be excellent, but there is still some progress to be made. MBO students are so important to us, but they wander around here, educated by their phones.”
Transferium a great success
The owner of Bjoeks is closely following the plans for Kardinge. “The unfortunate thing is that the planning seems to have stalled. We have had consultation evenings. You let people dream, but at the same time there is no real room for discussion on the main points. I mainly had the impression that the planners were not sufficiently involved in the area and saw it as a drawing board exercise.”
According to Van der Veen, it is now about further implementation. “So no shabby residential area with a box that is empty for the vast majority of the year as a view. There is talk of a parking apartment. How? The transferium is a great success, but those 1000 plus cars have to be hidden somewhere. I want officials to sit in front of me and say: how are we going to solve this and that? They have been planning for three years, but if I am critical, it is not going anywhere. I am in favor of the development of Kardinge. That is good for my company, but when I look at the development of the city center, De Suikerzijde and Stadshavens, there is much more energy in it.”
Administrative orphan
Loosely translated, he compares the northeastern part of the city of Groningen with the east of the province of Groningen. “Not enough is getting off the ground.” On Wednesday, Van der Veen took the plunge and stood face to face with the city council at the town hall. He argued that the ice rink takes up too large a space and therefore spatially blocks Kardinge from new developments.
“The area is now ‘unloved, underinvested and a bit of an administrative orphan.'” Van der Veen made a plea for a residential area with a health center and possibly a supermarket, embedded in beautiful greenery and beautiful architecture. Swimming pools and sports halls and a large multifunctional sports hall are logical pillars aimed at recreational sports. “Top sport is theater and belongs to Martiniplaza.”
