As reported, Mayor Katja Dörner only opened an exercise course in the green belt of the Höhenort district in November with the Sports and Baths Office and the citizens' association Heiderhof. The concept here was especially tailored to older people. Since then, the area has also been used by active people of younger generations.

The facilities at Rigal's Meadow are intended for a broad target group ranging from children and youths to adults. Equipment with different levels of difficulty should appeal to all age groups from beginners to trained athletes. This outdoor fitness offer represents a sensible extension of the already existing sports areas, the administration formulates. On Rigal's meadow, which is adjacent to the municipal day-care centre of the same name, a playground and a volleyball court as well as a huge lawn for ball games are currently waiting for users. The skate park is soon to be renovated (see info box). The area also houses a municipal playhouse.

The sports office, together with the city sports association, initially had the Godesberg Kurpark in mind for their overall concept to promote physical activity in public spaces. In consultation with the district council, the two examined the possibility of erecting the outdoor sports facility there. "However, due to the high tree population and the annual summer festival, the possibilities for a new fitness facility in the Kurpark are very limited," was the result.

In consultation with the Office for the Environment and City Greenery, the Godesberg district administration office and the lower monument authority, the location in the spa park was possible in principle. But next to the tennis courts of the Godesberg tennis club Grün Weiss and Koblenzer Straße, the area is only very small.

Therefore, only a small number of fitness machines could have been installed in the Kurpark, the administration concludes. The connection to the public transport system is also very good here, but the parking possibilities are very limited and there are no parking spaces for the disabled. All of these were reasons why the Rigal meadow was considered as an alternative location. Here, adjacent to the climbing tower and the volleyball field, there would be room for a much larger outdoor fitness facility with lots of equipment, according to the administration.

An inclusive calisthenics facility could be installed here without any problem, which offers numerous exercise possibilities with many variations using bars in different heights and positions. Other sports equipment for training strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination could also be installed at the Rigal'sche Wiese site. The administration also sees the possibility of purchasing a jointless so-called EPDM surface for special fall protection, so that barrier-free use of the facility can be ensured.

Equipment such as a trampoline for wheelchairs and a slackline training device could add playful components to the facility, according to the city. Since the Rigal'sche Wiese is also to be used as an event area in the future, the redesign of the area will take place in close coordination with the event coordination and the district administration office. Other advantages of the location are the good bus and train connections, the numerous free parking facilities and the parking spaces for the disabled. From the point of view of sports development planning, the Rigal meadow is more attractive and more sensible as a location than the Kurpark, for which one could imagine the deposit of a sports box with equipment as part of the "Sport in the Park" offer.

The city of Godesberg states that 150,000 Euro will be needed for the sports facility project. The administration promises that funds from the "Modern Sports Facility 2022" programme will be available for the financing. In August 2022, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia announced that the overall programme submitted by the city of Bonn would be funded for the whole of Bonn to the tune of 500,000 Euro with a subsidy rate of 90 per cent. The municipal share will be financed from the lump sum for the financing of sports facilities, the administration now says. The funds would be available in the investment budget of the sports and baths office in 2023, subject to the adoption of the budget resolution and the approval of the budget by the Cologne district government.

(Original text: Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu; Translation: Mareike Graepel)