The new Rheingoldhalle is starting: This was probably supposed to be conveyed by the many red spotlights on the floor, which showed the invited media representatives the way through the almost completed building on Friday like the runway. Parallels to the Berlin BER airport, where the makers have not exactly covered themselves with fame, do not exist in the renovation of the "Mainz showpiece", assured Mayor Günter Beck (Die Grünen). Even if angry tongues would have spoken again and again of construction errors and delays. In fact, the completely outdated Rheingoldhalle, which dates from the 1960s, was completely upgraded and redesigned within just three years. At 3.Beck announced that the congress and conference center, which has been modernized for around 30 million euros, will officially be handed over to Mainzplus Citymarketing GmbH as operator on January 1st.

Markus Schug

Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

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However, it is no longer in such a big hurry, because the Carnival sessions, which otherwise fill the halls in Mainz at the beginning of the year, are likely to be canceled due to the corona.

With more than 200 potential customers, Marc André Glöckner and Katja Mailahn, the future managing director duo of Citymarketing GmbH, were already on the big construction site to present “the new flagship in the location portfolio” to interested parties in advance.

Around 80 events have already been firmly agreed, said Glöckner, who praised the flexible space offer as a great advantage of the location directly on the Rhine and within walking distance of the city center.

Events could, which is very important in the corona pandemic, be realized digitally as well as in hybrid form or even live.

Space for up to 3000 guests

One of the special features of the future barrier-free Rheingoldhalle is the ventilation and air conditioning technology, which, according to project manager Frank Intra, is intended to provide "fresh air in a sustainable and climate-friendly manner".

In any case, the entire building technology has been replaced.

Another new addition is a balcony built on the river side of the building, which was designed as an additional escape route to the outside, but should also be an ideal vantage point for suitable occasions such as fireworks.

According to Beck, almost 2200 visitors will be able to stay in the black and gold ballroom in the future. If no chairs are provided, for example at concerts, there would even be space for 3,000 guests. A further 1200 people could be accommodated in the adjacent Gutenberg Hall, which was excluded from the renovation. The foyer and some breakout rooms on the first floor are also available for meetings and congresses; exactly where the Mainz casino used to be.

According to Britt Thieme from fs Architekten, the finishing touches will have to be done next year on the roof of the Rheingoldhalle, which is to have a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic system and, if possible, the original gold leaf decorations on the front sides. This also applies to the design of the outside areas, on which material is still stored and containers from the many construction companies.

The work on the building, which was closed at the end of 2018, was unexpectedly complicated, said Beck. "Also because the little that we could find in documented plans surprisingly almost never coincided with reality," added Thieme. The mayor recalled the major fire in May 2019, a bomb found that caused a further delay, delivery bottlenecks, for example in the window fronts, which had been ordered from a company from the now flooded Ahr valley, and the restrictions caused by the corona pandemic, which would have made many processes on the construction site more difficult. Seen in this way, one can be very satisfied, even if the determination of the total costs still has to wrestle with the fire insurance for individual items.The fact that the Rheingoldhalle is shining golden again in many places is to be understood as a reminiscence - and has absolutely nothing to do with Mainz megalomania and the currently booming trade tax income.