The Rink of Dreams was scheduled to be complete in December but has faced major delays.
A thick layer of snow blankets Marion Dewar Plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall, where the Rink of Dreams has been under construction since the beginning of October – and is finally scheduled to open after a 40-day delay.
This rink is the first of 20 that the Ottawa Senators, in partnership with the Sens Foundation, hope to build in communities across Eastern Ontario and West Quebec in celebration of the team’s 20th anniversary.
However, the city hall facility will be the only refrigerated one, says Danielle Robinson, president of the Sens Foundation.
“We’re really excited as part of our 20th anniversary year to give this gift back to the community and say thank you,” she says.
Originally hoping to have blades glide across the ice Dec. 15, the deadline for the new skating rink was recently changed to Jan. 25 after the site was inspected and an exact design was finalized, says Michael Lombardi, the Morley Hoppner Group’s Rink of Dreams project manager.
“If the rink is going to be there 30, 40 years, we want to do it right, so the design team took their time in finding what was appropriate,” adds project manager Aaron Robinson, the Ottawa Senators’ director of fan and community development.
“If we didn’t do it right, then the city wouldn’t necessarily have something they wanted.”
He explains that beneath the current layer of snow, the concrete base for the rink has been setting. When concrete is poured, he says, it needs to be cured before construction can resume.
While they wait the necessary 28 days, Lombardi says they have been working on other tasks, such as installing the refrigerated unit underneath the rink in the city hall parking garage.
“It doesn’t look like there’s a lot going on, but there’s something going on,” says Aaron Robinson.
The Rink of Dreams will be a 1,160-square-metre oval outdoor skating rink.
The design includes boards surrounding the rink with LED lights in them and a refrigerated unit that will keep the surface of the ice cold even when the weather is warm.
“If we’re going to be getting warmer and warmer winters then people will be getting much more use out of the rink,” says Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes.
“This rink will be a guaranteed ice surface for people to participate in and use from November until March,” adds Danielle Robinson.
The new Jan. 25 deadline for completing the Rink of Dreams is no coincidence.
Several celebratory NHL All-Star Game events will begin the next day .
“We’ve really been wanting for the rink to be up and running for the All-Star weekend,” says Danielle Robinson.
The Sens Foundation, in partnership with the Ottawa Senators and Hockey Canada, will be involved in numerous events taking place on All-Star weekend, she says.
Events leading up to the much-anticipated game, which is scheduled to take place on Jan. 29 at Scotiabank Place, begins on Jan. 26 with a trophy procession featuring the Stanley Cup along the Rideau Canal Skateway.
The celebrations continue all weekend throughout Ottawa and at the new rink, and include a Jan. 29 party allowing children in the community to meet and skate with the Sens’ mascot Spartacus on the new rink.