The construction of the Daniel Dhers Park began in the city of Barquisimeto (western Venezuela) in October 2021 on more than 110,000 square meters of land, more that 27 acres, by the Chavista Mayor’s Office of the Iribarren Municipality, headed by Mayor Luis Jonás Reyes.
lapatilla.com correspondent
The northeast corner of the “El Obelisco Tourist and Recreational Complex” is the designated area where this park is being built and where a one million dollars budget, at least, was allocated in 2021. It was stipulated to be completed in six months, but almost three years later, the “guaros” (Lara State locals) continue waiting for the completion of this project that would benefit from the start at least 50 BMX cyclists from the capital of Lara State.
The initiative to build this park arose after the Venezuelan athlete Daniel Dhers won a silver medal in the BMX discipline at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. In addition to being a tribute to the outstanding athlete, it would also be an incentive for children and young people to practice this Olympic sport and others related to this discipline. This would be the largest extreme sports park in Venezuela.
Official version
The construction of this park is 90% complete, according to the mayor of Iribarren, and what began as an open-air park was changed to a fenced in project.
It is necessary to mention that BMX Freestyle has its roots in Barquisimeto, as Dhers mentioned in his speech when stamping his hands in the wet cement to leave his mark when construction of the park began in 2021.
At that time, the athlete mentioned that one of the oldest parks in the country is in Barquisimeto, where he also “learned his first trick” back in 1998.
The track to which Daniel Dhers referred is called “Domingo López” and is located in the La Rosaleda urbanization, in east of Barquisimeto. Several BMX Racing schools of Lara State operate there and are supported by contributions from the Government of Lara and self-financing by the schools themselves.
Just last June 2023, the first stage of the construction of this extreme park presented significant progress that so far consists of the completion of the “bowl”, after the pouring of the concrete in the area where the highest ramps go.
The hand profiling of the berms for the 7-foot curves was also carried out, and the slopes sprayed with concrete for stability, and the rebars reinforcement in 7-foot curves and in the so-called Obelisk Ramp was shaped and put in place.” This was reported by the mayor of Iribarren last year after inspecting the works.
Cyclist speaks up
Recently, through his personal ‘X’ account, Daniel Dhers asked the mayor of Barquisimeto what had happened with the construction of the park.
“Dear Mayor Luis Jonás Reyes, I have tried to contact you through various means to find out: What happened to the Daniel Dhers park in Barquisimeto?”, the Olympic cyclist’s publication highlights in part. “If I can’t be finished, I would like it to be partially opened so that the kids can enter,” he stated.
Estimado alcalde @LuisJonasReyes – lo he intentado contactar por varios medios para saber ¿Qué aconteció con el parque Daniel Dhers de Barquisimeto?
De no poder terminarlo, me gustaría que se abriera parcialmente para que los chamos puedan entrenar. Estoy a la orden ¡Gracias!— Daniel Dhers OLY ?? (@Danieldhers) January 16, 2024
Dhers’ publication immediately went viral on social networks to the point that in record time, the mayor of Barquisimeto called him back.
“I had a pleasant conversation with @Danieldhers about the works on one of the most important spaces we will have in Latin America for extreme and adventure sports, and which we are building in the city of #Barquisimeto. The first stage of the project is 90% complete and we hope to complete this phase in the first quarter of this year,” Reyes assured in his publication.
Estimado alcalde @LuisJonasReyes – lo he intentado contactar por varios medios para saber ¿Qué aconteció con el parque Daniel Dhers de Barquisimeto?
De no poder terminarlo, me gustaría que se abriera parcialmente para que los chamos puedan entrenar. Estoy a la orden ¡Gracias!— Daniel Dhers OLY ?? (@Danieldhers) January 16, 2024
After the conversation they had over the telephone, Dhers, in another post on the social network X, mentioned that the plan is to finish the first phase in the first quarter of this year and open the use of the x bike bowl track.
Pude hablar con el alcalde @LuisJonasReyes – el plan es terminar la primera fase este primer trimestre del año y comenzar con la utilización del bowl. Gracias alcalde por comunicarse y estoy atento cualquier cambio ??
— Daniel Dhers OLY ?? (@Danieldhers) January 16, 2024
After the statement by of mayor of Barquisimeto, nothing more has been said about the resumption of the works and the budget allocated for the completion of this phase, so until now there is very little information in this regard.
Children and young people who love the BMX Freestyle discipline only hope that the local leader keeps his word and the promise of the prompt opening of the Daniel Dhers Park and that the promise doesn’t vanish into thin air.