Closed facility’s ice melt brought forward
THE Dunedin Ice Stadium is on ice — well, sort of.
With the Covid19 lockdown into its third week and the doors locked at the stadium in St Kilda, it has been decided to make the most of the opportunity and melt the ice.
Ice Stadium manager Paris Heyd said the plan had always been to defrost the ice later in the year, as the rinks needed new markings painted.
But with the lockdown now in play and noone in the building it was decided to move the melt forward.
He said it was literally a case of just turning the switch off and walking away. The ice melted and the water would drain into the sand below. The ice was about 6cm10cm thick, although that varied in places. The main skating area was 60m x 30m, while the curling rink beside it had already been turned off and the ice had melted.
Heyd said it would take about two weeks for the ice to be put back in and the lines painted ready for opening. He was consulting with the Dunedin City Council on when that could be done.
The ice may take a short period to be bedded.
Obviously, a reopening date was dependent on how long the lockdown went for.
The paint cost between $10,000 and $20,000 and had already arrived from Canada and was sitting ready to be used.
The stadium was taking a financial hit through not being open as it entered its busy time of the year. From March to October was traditionally its busy period, so it was disappointing to not be open.
Not as many staff had been employed after the national ice hockey league had been canned for this year because of Covid19.
Heyd said the national figure skating championships were set to take place at the stadium in late September and hopefully these would go ahead.
The stadium, which opened in 2004 and ice had been replaced three times in the past four years.
Heyd said the stadium had performed well last year and it was still a quality surface.
The public sessions had been more popular, more figure skaters were using the complex and social ice hockey had been growing every year.