The largest skating ice surface in Saskatchewan will return this winter.
Iceville sponsored by play 92.1 FM is back as Mosaic Stadium will be converted from a football field to a skating rink.
There was a strong desire to bring Iceville back for another year says CEO and President of REAL Tim Reid. “People love coming to the stadium, they love the experience of walking through these doors, they love the fact this asset is owned by everyone that calls Regina home, and we have to make it a 12 month asset, so to see it come back this year is one of those positive outcomes that came out of COVID-19.”
There is one change this year as skaters will be charged $5 to skate on Iceville.
Iceville is a endeavor that REAL has committed to not lose money on says Reid. “Last year we saw that 190,000 people wanted to sign up and we felt there had to be an investment on behalf of the skater to show up. We recognize we will have somewhere in between 40,000-45,000 time slots available for people to go for a skate and we realize that the demand will greatly outpaced that.”
Registrations are now available and be made at http://www.iceville.ca. Ice sessions are available in one hour blocks. There will be an ice capacity of 215 skaters, Reid noted that there will no be COVID-19 restrictions on the amount of skaters using the ice surface.
There will be a refund issued to skaters if the temperature drops below -25 according to Reid.
The second season of Iceville will begin with a bang on New Year’s Eve. There will be a special skate that night, that will be followed by a fireworks display at Mosaic Stadium. The public is welcome to enjoy the fireworks free of charge.
The process to convert the playing surface at Mosaic Stadium into a sheet of ice has been quite the process as Reid explains. “Our team laid the decking that we do for concerts, they put down a vapor barrier to essentially catch the water, they build up about 10 inches around the perimeter of the ice and then we borrow the hoses from the Fire Department and we go out as often as we possibly can, normally overnight because that’s when it freezes and we flood all night.”
The rink will be open 12-10pm Monday to Friday and 10 am -10 pm on weekends. Music will be provided by play 92.1 FM.
Public health orders will remain in place for everyone that enters Iceville, individuals 12 and older must provide a proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test when checking in. The negative test must be done within 72 hours of the designated skating time. Masks must be worn indoors at Mosaic Stadium.
