Penticton’s outdoor rink has been closed since last week, due to “warm weather,” the group responsible for overseeing the facility says.
Drew Barnes, president of Activate Penticton, says the two-year-old rink’s chiller system was struggling to “keep up” with mild temperatures over the last few weeks.
“Rather than spend thousands of dollars and not keep up with the melting ice, we thought it would be best to shut it down and re-flood,” Barnes said.
“We are hoping to be open for Sunday this weekend (Feb. 11).”
Barnes says there were also challenges with maintaining the facility when it snowed earlier this week, while volunteers were flooding the ice.
“When snow gets in the flood, it creates air pockets and bad ice,” he added.
Penticton’s outdoor rink opened for the season in December. It is said to be operational in temperatures of up to 10 C, when there are no issues with the chiller system.
The rink is located at 107 Martin Street and played host to BCHL All-Star Weekend on Jan. 20.
Activate Penticton, a volunteer-based non-profit organization, is responsible for all maintenance and operations for the 40 by 14-metre facility.
The group also helped collect more than $800,000 in private funds to help make the project a reality, before its opening in February 2022.
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