Blaine has a total of 19 rinks at 5 different locations. Public works crews have been flooding places such as Happy Acres Park for the past couple weeks.
Despite having to deal with weather fluctuations such as rain, snow and above freezing temps, the rinks opened to the public on Friday December 19.
“Very popular,” said Justin Holmberg, of the Blaine Parks Department. “We average about 183 users per day just on Happy Acres and LAC (Lexington Athletic Complex) alone. We get a lot of use out here on these rinks. A lot of people bring their families. You see multiple people coming back year after year.”
Plenty of rink options
In a typical year there are approximately 52 outdoor skating days in Blaine and the season usually runs through late February.
Aurelia, Happy Acres, the Jim Peterson Athletic complex, Lexington Athletic Complex and Ostmans Park all have warming houses open seven days a week.
“I think we offer a really good product for the residents and nearby community,” Holmberg said. “These rinks behind me are zombonied Monday through Friday and occasionally on weekends. On average it takes us about four hours to clean just these four rinks here (Happy Acres) with a crew of about six guys.”
Some of the skating facilities also have lights.
