€4.7M Upgrade Transforms School Sports Facilities Across the Region
Modern, Safe, and Fit-for-Purpose Sports Facilities Are Key to High-Quality School Sports
Preliminary assessments revealed that many school sports facilities—particularly in athletics—no longer met current standards for both school and competitive sports. Numerous surfaces showed clear signs of wear, including cracks, patchwork repairs, and uneven flooring. The goal of the upgrades was therefore to comprehensively modernize these facilities and create lasting, high-quality conditions for training and physical education.
As part of the renovations, running tracks, playing fields, long-jump pits, and shot-put areas were refurbished and equipped with new substructures. State-of-the-art drainage and channel systems now ensure controlled rainwater absorption, bringing the facilities back in line with the demands of school and club sports.
The projects were funded through state and federal programs: "Gute Schule 2020" ("Good School 2020") is a North Rhine-Westphalia initiative to strengthen local educational infrastructure. The now-expired "KIDU-Schule" program (which concluded at the end of last year) was financed with federal funds under the Municipal Investment Promotion Act and focused on modernizing and improving school buildings and their associated sports facilities. Priority was given to structural renewals, functional upgrades, and sustainable enhancements to school campuses and sports grounds.
Completed Projects with Investment Volumes (Selection): - Kopernikus-Gymnasium – approx. €2.6 million - Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz Comprehensive School – approx. €950,000 - Hans-Christian-Andersen School – approx. €650,000 - Duisburg-Mitte Comprehensive School – approx. €1 million - Van-Gogh-Straße Primary School – approx. €675,000 - Duisburg-Süd Comprehensive School – approx. €665,000 - Böhmer Straße Cooperative Comprehensive School – approx. €1 million - Am Biegerpark Secondary School – approx. €1.9 million
Additional projects were implemented through the end of 2025.
Major Upgrades Completed in 2025
At Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium, the dilapidated outdoor sports facilities underwent a full renovation. In addition to new long-jump and shot-put areas, a sprint track, and a student soccer field, a multifunctional court and a roller-sports surface were installed. The entire substructure, including drainage, was also modernized.
Similar renovations took place at Dahlingschule in Duisburg-Friemersheim and Förderschule Duisburg-Nord, where new multifunctional courts, sprint tracks, and athletics facilities were constructed.
At Kopernikus-Gymnasium, a concrete roller-sports court with spectator stands was added to the previously completed upgrades.
Even after the "KIDU-Schule" funding program ended in late 2025, ongoing projects will naturally be finalized or continued.
At Sternstraße, weather delays have postponed the completion of the synthetic surface for the new small-sided pitch—a combined soccer and basketball court with a modern drainage system—on the schoolyard.
In 2026, Kopernikus-Gymnasium will see the installation of an additional synthetic ball-sports surface at a cost of around €1.2 million. Meanwhile, the outdoor sports facilities at Förderschule Kranichschule will undergo a €1 million renovation.
The modernized facilities benefit not only students, who now have access to safer and more appealing sports areas, but also local sports clubs that use the grounds outside school hours—providing them with improved training and competition conditions.
