The approval for the final project and the variant arrived only a few days ago, but on PalaMerlino Work had been underway for some time, so much so that this morning, in the presence of the mayor Federico Basile, the councilor Massimo Finocchiaro, the expert Francesco Giorgio and the design architect Conci Spagnolo, the works for the renovation of the Cep skating rink were handed over to the companies Arcobaleno Srl, of Aci Sant’Antonio, and Edil Costruzioni Putrino of Adrano. The cost of the redevelopment is over 4 million eurosalmost 3 million for the integrated contract alone and the remainder for VAT, expenses, furnishings, connections and various savings.
The PalaMerlino will be dismantled and rebuilt. The structure, located in the CEP village and built in 1992, has no stands for the public and needs a total restyling. The plastic covering tent is in fact holed and worn, frequent infiltrations have therefore been made over time that have caused no small amount of damage to the skating rink itself.
The project for the new PalaMerlino skating rink was presented by the Municipality of Messina as part of the “Sport and Social Inclusion” call and financed largely with PNRR funds.
Once completed, it will host various disciplines, such as figure or inline skating, freestyle and hockey.
The structure will be a mix of steel and concrete, with appropriate systems that will allow for maximum use of natural light, thus limiting the use of artificial light. The lighting system will be designed in compliance with the indexes required for approval. Toilets and changing rooms will be provided, also accessible for people with motor disabilities. A parking lot is planned for the outdoor areas. Finally, stands will be built for a maximum capacity of 600 spectators, in order to guarantee the possibility of approval for series B in the case of inline hockey.
In the meantime, the sports clubs that carried out their activities there, especially the basic ones, will be transferred to the gyms of some schools nearby. Speaking of facilities, by the end of September, early October, the work on the Cappuccini swimming pool should also be completed so as to allow it to open. While the possibility of building a swimming pool in the southern part of the city is being studied.