Brookline Closes Ice Rink Due To 'Operational Challenges'

Brookline MA

07 March, 2022

11:06 AM

Description

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline's Jack Kirrane Ice Rink has closed for the season due to operational issues, including weather challenges, partial failure of the temporary refrigeration units and ongoing deterioration of the aging infrastructure, said the town. The outdoor ice rink has been in operation for 64 years and has undergone numerous repairs, updates, and replacements that have kept it operational and able to welcome approximately 15,000 individual visits each winter. However, it has been impacted by numerous system failures in the last several years and, according to the town, has "reached the end of its useful life." "A visit to the Jack Kirrane Ice Rink is a beloved family tradition spanning multiple generations, but the condition of the old rink leaves it in a fragile state, and recent weather conditions have made it infeasible to keep the season going," said Recreation Director Leigh Jackson in a statement. "It is our hope that a more permanent solution will be developed in the coming winters that will keep ice skating in Brookline alive for decades to come." Following the ice rink's permanent system failure and considering its age, the Park and Recreation Commission determined that any future operation of the rink would require a significant investment in capital dollars. Temporary refrigeration units were put in place to allow the rink to open for the last two seasons, but were considered a short term measure needed to operate the outdoor facility and costed more than $150,000 each year to rent and operate. The Park and Recreation Commission will discuss the future of the rink at their March 8 meeting and determine if it is in the best interest of the community to reopen the rink next year. In addition, the town's Ice Rink Task Force oversaw a preliminary feasibility study to identify what would be necessary to build a new rink. "While work remains to further the planning and design of a new ice skating rink in Brookline, great effort was made to have an open and responsive public process and to set a course, with viable options, for a new ice skating facility that will provide the greatest benefit to the community," said the town in a news release. The feasibility study's findings are available here. To register for the March 8 Park and Recreation Commission meeting, click here.