Kuurne (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Bike park plan at Kuurne’s Hippodrome, once set for 2025, then delayed to 2027, is cancelled after partners withdrew. Mayor Francis Benoit says Cycling Flanders cannot co-finance or manage.
As VRT News reported, the plan for a bike park at the Hippodrome in Kuurne, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium, is now cancelled. The project was announced as the first bike park in Flanders, but it will not be built. The municipality worked with Cycling Flanders to create a site for training, cycling practice and events.
The park was first planned to open in 2025, but rising construction costs pushed the date to 2027. After that delay, doubts grew about the project’s future. Several partners later withdrew, and the remaining funding was not enough.
What led to the cancellation of Kuurne’s bike park?
Mayor Francis Benoit (CD&V) reports that several partners have stepped away from the bike park plan in Kuurne. He says Cycling Flanders is now in a reorganisation phase and can no longer provide funding or take on the park’s management. He also states that harness racing at the Hippodrome will stop until at least 2027, which means a new track cannot be built.
The municipality confirms that no replacement plan for the Hippodrome has been announced, and the site remains without new development.
“We’re now looking for a plan to properly shape the racecourse’s future,”
says Benoit.
“We don’t want to simply throw the bike park plans in the trash. We’re potentially looking at certain private partners to secure financing, with the potential for other uses.”
The plan for a bike park in Kuurne was first presented in 2021, when the municipality and Cycling Flanders announced a shared project at the Hippodrome. The opening was originally set for 2025, with construction expected to begin in 2024. Rising costs in 2023 pushed the schedule to 2027, and talks with private partners continued through 2024 to keep the idea moving. The design included a new track, training areas and space for events, but support began to fall away during 2024.
