Attraction to close at the end of the year What Sea Life Center and the city of Königswinter are negotiating

Königswinter · At the end of the year, Sea Life Center in Königswinter will close. The demolition of the building will cost around 400,000 euros. But there is still discussion about who will pay for the demolition and disposal of aquarium water and equipment.

The Sea Life Center in Königswinter is to close at the end of the year.

The Sea Life Center in Königswinter is to close at the end of the year.

Foto: Frank Homann

At a notary's office in Hamburg, there is now a purchase agreement for the city to buy the Sea Life Center in Königswinter. "We hope that it will be ready for signing in three weeks at the latest," said the city's press spokesman, Florian Striewe, when asked. Before that happens, the city does not want to comment on the details of the agreement. There has been a frenzy of speculation in recent weeks about a subsequent use for the site or even the building.

Building on Rheinallee is home to 36 tanks and aquariums

According to information from the General-Anzeiger, at issue is a clause to be included in the contract, saying that the owner should pay half of the demolition costs. The city had obtained a cost estimate for the demolition of the building with its 36 tanks and aquariums, stating that it would come to around 370,000 euros. Further costs for the disposal of the aquarium water and the aquarium equipment were estimated at around 75,000 euros. Local politicians have tasked the city administration with carrying out tough negotiations with Sea Life owners. Sea Life is also expected to waive a claim towards any compensation.

In September, the city administration reported in a non-public committee meeting that the company had approached the city with a request for early termination of its contract. In 2004, the city and Sea Life Centre Meeraquarium Betriebs GmbH had concluded a leasehold agreement for the property on Rheinallee. The large aquarium was opened in December 2005. Sea Life pays the city a leasehold fee that was set at five percent of the land value at the time when the contract was concluded in 2004.

The company is being extremely guarded in its release of information in view of the fact that the gates on Rheinallee are to be closed at the end of the year, i.e. in just over eight weeks. The company has only communicated to the city that it will be withdrawing from Königswinter despite its long-term contract. Martin Lind, General Manager Cluster NRW of the Merlin Entertainments Group, said even when asked again by the GA: "I have no news to report at this time." He said he would get back to the GA in a timely manner if there was anything new to report. Asked about the city's statement, Lind at least conceded, "I can confirm what Mr. Striewe said about the status of the negotiations. We are in negotiations with the city of Königswinter, but we have not signed a contract at this point.”

Sea Life is looking for a new home for the fish

The GA has learned that a statement from Sea Life Königswinter exists in which the company confirms "with regret" that "the building will close permanently at the end of the year." Lind is quoted there as saying, "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision with regret to close this attraction soon." The priorities now, he said, are to find a suitable new home for our animals on the one hand, and on the other, the company wants to advise and support employees in their search for new roles. It was an "economic decision," he said.

The site and building are more than 17 years old, he said, so significant financial investments would have to be made to maintain standards. Sea Life, he said, was hit hard by the Corona pandemic, as were other recreational facilities and attractions in the region.

The city wants to prevent a long-term vacancy at this central location in the Old Town of Königswinter. There is said to have been widespread agreement on this objective in the non-public part of the main committee in September. On Monday, October 24, the topic is again on the agenda of key committees, to be discussed in the non-public section under the agenda item "Leasehold in Königswinter-Altstadt: Early termination of contract and cost sharing”. (Orig. text: Hansjürgen Melzer / Translation: ck)

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