Despite the bitterly cold outside temperatures for much of its existence, the rink on Wascana has been a welcome sight for skaters.

As the rink closes for the season this weekend, the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) said they were happy with how the year turned out.

“The first year of having the rink in the area is obviously a learning experience but we think it went really well,” said Lauren Hope, programming and visitor supervisor with the PCC. “The set-up went well, the area was great and everyone loved being able to skate on the ice with the Leg in the background.”

The rink will be closed beginning Monday, Feb. 28. It’s open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with free skating lessons Saturday from 11 to 1 p.m.

“|Over the next couple days our PCC and SaskBuilds and Procurement maintenance teams will be taking the boards and lighting off the ice,” Hope said.

She said there were 7,000 visitors come to watch skaters behind the boards but the PCC didn’t have numbers for the total amount of skaters.

The rink opened in late January and was the hub for the Frost Regina Winter Festival. The PCC invested $200,000 into the completion of the rink.