The following article appeared in the December 21 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Market Square moved a major step closer to becoming a hub of community activity Tuesday when it opened its oval skating rink for the first time.
It is a sheet of ice now but will be a reflecting pool with water jets for splashing, or a smooth concrete surface for musical performances and other events, come the warm season.
Construction of the $2.1-million project began over a year ago and was paid for through $1 million in federal infrastructure stimulus funding, and another $1.1 million from a community fundraising effort, Guelph’s downtown renewal manager Ian Panabaker said Tuesday.
Skaters hit the ice early Tuesday and the new recreational attraction on Carden Street was in use through to the evening, with parents and their children, teenagers, and young couples holding hands, gliding around the rink.
At night, shifting colours from an elaborate lighting system changed the tones of the rink to blue, red, amber and green. What appear to be a series of decorative sculptures adorning one end of the rink are water jets in the summer.
From a second-floor boardroom of city hall, Panabaker looked down at the rink and described some its features Tuesday afternoon. While the attached pavilion — with change room, washroom facilities, a warm-up area and lockers — won’t be complete until the end of January, beneath it are elaborate refrigeration and water systems that maintain the ice in winter.
Even if temperatures are above freezing, the ice is expected to be skate-worthy, Panabaker indicated. An ice-surfacing machine, which is smaller than machines used by regulation-sized hockey rinks, scrapes and floods the ice throughout the day.
The ice surface is about half that of a regular rink. A concrete bench lines an entire side of the rink, and is where skaters lace up.
“This is an outdoor public facility that is here for everyone in the city to come down and enjoy,” said Panabaker, who had his first skate on the rink Tuesday evening, along with a number of the people who helped make it possible.
Downtown business person Mark Rodford, and Audrey Jamal, former executive director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association, tried out the rink. Both were very pleased with the finished product. They were part of the “Rink Rats” group that raised funds for the project. Guelph Coun. Ian Findlay was also skating with his children.
“It opens the street up to all sorts of possibilities,” Panabaker said, speaking of the potential for community gatherings, skating and roller-skating parties and concerts at the site throughout the year. He is particularly proud of the ambient lighting.
“It is a big-event space for the whole city,” he said.
A major part of the community funds came from the Nicholas Lambden Memorial Children’s Foundation. Ten-year-old Nick Lambden was fatally injured in February 2007 after being struck in the head by a hockey puck on an outdoor rink. The foundation contributed $400,000 to the Market Square rink.
The official grand opening for Guelph’s Market Square is scheduled to take place Saturday, Feb. 18. Mayor Karen Farbridge will host her inaugural New Year’s levee on Saturday, Jan. 7 from 1 to 4 p.m. at city hall, and skating on the rink will be a part of the festivities.
City employee Marilyn Redmond had a noon-hour skate on Tuesday. Skating in the outdoors, she said, takes her back to her childhood, when her father would make an outdoor rink every winter.
“It reminds me of being a kid and staying out on the rink until your feet froze,” she said, adding that a number of city employees are planning to bring their skates to work throughout the winter.
Colette Griswold brought her sons for a skate Tuesday.
“The weather in recent years hasn’t allowed us to build a rink,” she said. “So it’s great to have this so close to home. We were able to walk down here.”
She said she hoped the facility would be well used, and that increased foot traffic on Carden Street would help merchants.
Skating is from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and is free of charge. There are some rules. No games or figure skating are allowed, and excessively fast skating is discouraged. Skating aids such as strollers, toboggans or wagons are not allowed, and helmets are strongly recommended.