Builders explain how to make an ice rink on a Florida beach

By Sharon Kennedy Wynne

On a recent November afternoon, it was 81 degrees as workers in short sleeves prepared the space for an ice rink on Spa Beach at the approach to the St. Pete Pier.

“It’s crazy isn’t it?” said Christopher Beck, the food and beverage manager for the Pier’s events.

He was in a tank top as he set up the large tent where snacks are doled out after visitors finish ice skating. While hot chocolate and other typical holiday fare were on hand for Winter Beach when it opened this past weekend, there was ice cream on the menu as well because this is still Florida.

The Pier organizers expect to attract 20,000 skaters over the 59-day run of Winter Beach, which has a nearly 4,000-square-foot ice rink as the centerpiece. It also will have an adjacent shopping village, food and holiday events.

The city budgeted $435,000 to build Winter Beach and expects to make that up, and possibly earn a profit, from ticket sales and sponsorships, said Chris Ballestra, managing director of development for the city, which overseas facilities such as the Pier and Mahaffey Theater.

The ice rink is 97 feet long and 40 feet wide, about half the size of an NHL hockey rink. That’s about half the size of the famous ice rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City, which is 122 feet long and 59 feet wide.

How does the ice not melt from the Florida sun and the friction of skaters? It starts with a sandbox.

Builders trucked in 80 tons of sand and set up the base of the ice rink in a huge tent with windows looking out onto the bay. Next, they laid closely spaced mats and tubes filled with glycol, a food-safe antifreeze coolant.

Starting 10 days before the rink opened, the area was sprayed with water each night to form a thin but firm layer of ice. When finished, the ice rink is about 3 inches thick.

Tent flaps will sometimes be open, but wind is a bigger enemy than the sun, said Andy Muka, the project manager for Ice Rink Events, the company hired to build and run the Pier rink.

It’s the same company that has put an ice rink in Curtis Hixon Park every December since 2010. It is also building the ice rink at Tropicana Field for Enchant Christmas, which opens Friday.

“Wind accelerates evaporation, so being on a windy beach is something we need to work around,” Muka said. “This beach spot is surprisingly cool, temperature-wise.”

Thanks to this construction, the ice stays solid even if the temperature climbs, Muka said.

“We can handle even 85 degrees if there’s no wind,” Muka said. They would close the tent when there’s inclement weather and the cold air would be contained inside.

Supply-chain issues were an early concern, so Muka said he ordered materials earlier than normal. Hundreds of ice skates he ordered in July didn’t arrive until October.

The rink will be open daily through Jan. 17.