Oshawa considering renewing Delpark Homes outdoor rink for next season
Published May 20, 2022 at 1:04 pm
The 24-day outdoor skating rink pilot project at the Delpark Homes Centre last winter was such a success with the public Council is prepared to do it again this season.
At least that is staff’s recommendation. Council will debate the issue at Tuesday’s regular meeting of council.
The two 50 x 100’ rinks located on the east side of the arena complex had a short lifespan and were not without their problems. The original single, larger rink idea was kiboshed because of “supply chain issues,” there were issues with location – slightly uneven ground led to time consuming flooding procedures – and the extra long hoses required were prone to freezing.
But the public took to it quickly with an average 218 skaters using the rinks each day. The City even found some portable lighting to extend the hours and were able to add shinny time slots to the end of the evenings.
Staff described the public response as “very positive” and also reported that they were able to acquire $10,500 in sponsorship dollars to help offset the $32,462 in operating costs.
For next season staff is recommending spending $79,000 ($47,800 in surplus operating budget revenue and $31,200 from operating reserve) to continue the project over a slightly longer period.
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Outdoor naturally refrigerated rinks like the pilot project at Delpark Homes are dependent on the weather but staff hopes they can get an earlier jump this winter.
Staff has also been tasked with investigating the costs of a seasonal refrigerated ice rink for the 2022-23 season.
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