RUNNING an ice-skating rink is slippery business.
The events manager who brought the last temporary ice-skating rink to Wellington says if a conventional rink is constructed at Queens Wharf it is doomed to fail.
Phil Sprey managed the construction and maintenance of the ice rink at Waitangi (formerly Chaffers) Park, in 2002. He says an ice rink might make good political fodder, but it would be financially risky.
“I’d never do it again. They are invariably very hard to maintain. The city needs a permanent one, a temporary one will be a heap of money spent unnecessarily,” he says.
Despite “his” 2002 rink attracting 22,000 people over four weeks, Sprey says the process was fraught with costly problems.
A contemporary ice rink constructed for a Christchurch arts festival was also not financially viable, says Sprey.
The 2010/11 Draft Waterfront Development Plan, which includes a proposed ice rink, is out for public consultation and backers of the idea include Mayor Kerry Prendergast, who promised one for Wellington during her 2001 election campaign.
Wellington Waterfront CEO Ian Pike is looking into the financial viability of an open air ice-skating rink on Queens Wharf to be in place for three to four months each year throughout the winter season.
Wellington Waterfront has also investigated the failed Christchurch rink and Ian Pike says not nearly enough people visited it.
“They put the rink together rather hastily, too late in the piece, and made it too small. You don’t just ‘build it and they will come,’” says Pike.
Pike says no decisions will be made until next winter, because experimental synthetic ice rinks being constructed in Holland and Denmark are now being considered.
“A synthetic rink has advantages in power consumption and is actually cheaper.”
SkateRun is a Swiss company that installs synthetic ice rinks around the world. The synthetic rinks run without electricity and water, and can save up to 95% of energy costs compared to common ice rinks.
“It’s all about bringing people to the water front and we will pursue it to the point where it will either be financially viable or not,” says Pike.
To ensure success, Pike says an ice rink would need to be tied into other programmes like school holidays and festivals.
As for skating on a rink, although he won’t be lining up because of the unforgiving surface, he says “without question” it would appeal to younger people.