Park Board considers building artificial outdoor ice rinks

By Dan Haugen

Another short skating season this winter is helping give traction at Park Board headquarters to a vision of building artificial, outdoor ice rinks around the city. Southwest Journal

Posted by Liz Wielinski on Wed, 02/14/2007 - 11:34pm. | | Login to post comments

Comments

So we need more ice but we have limited funds.

#1 If we want kids to have access to ice to learn to skate why is there NO open skating at the newly purchased Edison ( now Northeast) Ice Arena?

#2 Will we be redirecting funds from the outdoor ice venues such as Lake of the Isles to maintaining these new sheets?

#3 Assuming the funding comes through to build these sheets ( I noticed 2 bills for grants related to ice arenas working their way through the legislature in 2007 ) what will be the determining factors related to who gets this ice? Will it go to areas with already established hockey communities or will the MPRB be putting them in areas with non traditional communitites to inspire them to try this cold weather sport?

#4 How much does it cost to maintain this product and where will the maintenance dollars come from, since this is a perpetual shortfall area for the system?

#5 Will these sheets be open to all users or another "rental" option for non Minneapolitans?

Hope these questions are working their way through the channels at the MPRB as they consider this new course.

Posted by Liz Wielinski | Fri, 02/16/2007 - 10:49am | Login to post comments

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