LANSING, Mich. — It's the most wonderful time of the year in downtown Lansing. The state Christmas tree is up, holiday decorations are being put into place and now the skating rink is back in front of City Hall and ready for the holiday season.
"We put up an ice skating rink outside City Hall as one more fun thing to do in our downtown. It was generously donated by the Community Foundation," Mayor Andy Schor said. "We want to provide the amenities and an exciting and vibrant town and a fun downtown. We know we've seen some struggles because of COVID. And people are not coming out. They're not going downtown as much as they used to. But here you have an outdoor option.”
The synthetic skating rink is over 3,300 square feet and located right on the City Hall Plaza.
And the best part about it is it won't melt.
"We have a plastic sheet here. So it is available all the time, meaning it is not weather affected, we do not have a cooling system underneath it," said Brett Kaschinske, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Lansing. "If you have a younger one, whereas if you want to teach them or help them to skate on ice, that would be very difficult on this, it's a little bit more kind as far as you walking out there and helping that individual to skate."
The rink is free for the public to enjoy. Officials say it will be open through the end of March and taken down in April.
You can enjoy skating up until 10 p.m. daily. There are security cameras in place and the area will be lit after dark.
"We're working on trying to have you know, skate rentals or skate borrowing and other things like that," Schor said.
But for not you will need to bring your own skates to enjoy the fun. Figure Skates and hockey skates are allowed, but playing hockey on the rink is not allowed.
"We don't say you have to skate in one direction, but obviously you want to maintain speed on there," Kaschinske said.
You are also reminded to be mindful of others around you while you're out having fun. No horseplay is allowed or eating and drinking inside of the rink.
The maximum capacity for the skating rink is 66 according to the state of Michigan and Ingham County Health Department. Masks and 6 feet social distancing are also required.
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