7 March 2011

Winter Wonderland in Civic

| johnboy
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The ABC has the exciting news that Canberra CBD is planning to run an ice rink in Garema Place this July:

Canberra CBD Limited, which represents property owners in the city, wants to set up an ice skating rink in Garema Place to attract shoppers back into the city centre.

CEO Linda Staite says the ice rink will run during the day and night and will enliven the city.

I truly can’t wait to see this.

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Matto said :

Jclarke said :

Buzz2600 said :

Ahh, nice. It’ll be like a little slice of New York city Rockefeller/Washington Smithsonian/Pentagon City ice skating rink in Canberra.

+2 I was thinking the same thing!!

I think it would be a great event to try and depending on numbers and turnout, continue every year. But do we really want to model ourselves on us&a? Aren’t we yankised enough? I don’t imagine it’s going to be cheap to run. Canberra winters are cold, but not compared to Northern North America, where in some places it struggles to get above -5/10 during the day. Some times can stay below -20 for weeks on end. I would support the idea, take the fam out for a skate everynow and then, but I feel there’s going to be too much red tape to get it off the ground. Too many whingers complaining about their hard earned tax dollars going into something that they’re not going to use. Apart from the fact that it might generate some more tourist and retail dollars, which at the end of the day, we all win.

I’m sure the US didn’t think up the idea of city ice skating rinks first. It just happens that I’ve lived there and enjoyed, along with thousands of other people, the pleasure of ice skating on a cold winters evening outdoors with the stars, the moon and fairylights twinkling with a hot chocolate or beer waiting nearby!

For the average Australian, Canberra is cold in winter, maybe not as cold as north America or Europe but cold enough. The miracle of under-surface freezer technology will do the rest of the work. So, why not turn it into a fun activity!

Matto said :

Canberra winters are cold, but not compared to Northern North America, where in some places it struggles to get above -5/10 during the day. Some times can stay below -20 for weeks on end.

That was part of my thinking, too, Matto. Most rinks in OZ have an ice temperature of around -4 C (that’s what the coolant pipes read as they return to the freezing plant) and an air temp of, at the most, 18 degrees. Note, though, that the buildings they are in are esentially huge fridges and could almost double as a cold store.

The rinks in, say, Holland generally have an ice temperature of -21 C (by the same measure), but have an air temperature of as high as 26 degrees (very pleasant to skate at . . . less so to train on). They also use demineralised water so that your blades (especially ‘flats’ used for speed skating) don’t wear off their eges quite so quickly (serious!). Belgian rinks, much the same. Austrian rinks, ditto. The Ice Stadium Zentrum at Innsbruck has a 400 m outdoor (long track) behind it. But, even there in winter it has a dedicated freezing plant. I think Zirl (Austria) has an outdoor 60 x30 and it, too, has a freezing plant.

‘Our’ rink would need to be in a tent, if for no other reason than to keep the sun off it and to keep the ambient air temp controlled. And / OR, it will need to be run at an ice temp of at least -20 odd (even then I think it’d be ‘soft’ ice, which is a struggle to keep an edge on). Like I said . . . can’t wait to see this happen.

Jclarke said :

Buzz2600 said :

Ahh, nice. It’ll be like a little slice of New York city Rockefeller/Washington Smithsonian/Pentagon City ice skating rink in Canberra.

+2 I was thinking the same thing!!

I think it would be a great event to try and depending on numbers and turnout, continue every year. But do we really want to model ourselves on us&a? Aren’t we yankised enough? I don’t imagine it’s going to be cheap to run. Canberra winters are cold, but not compared to Northern North America, where in some places it struggles to get above -5/10 during the day. Some times can stay below -20 for weeks on end. I would support the idea, take the fam out for a skate everynow and then, but I feel there’s going to be too much red tape to get it off the ground. Too many whingers complaining about their hard earned tax dollars going into something that they’re not going to use. Apart from the fact that it might generate some more tourist and retail dollars, which at the end of the day, we all win.

Buzz2600 said :

Ahh, nice. It’ll be like a little slice of New York city Rockefeller/Washington Smithsonian/Pentagon City ice skating rink in Canberra.

+2 I was thinking the same thing!!

Maybe we can have some (ice) hockey there and kiddies can watch grown men puching the crap out of each other on skates!!!!!

This sounds great! I hope it does go ahead and it’s a decent-sized rink, and not too expensive (like that winter wonderland thing a few years ago).

Evan, if people come to Civic to skate, they will probably buy lunch/dinner/coffee afterwards at the very least. They may very well do some shopping while they’re there as well. I certainly try to consolidate my trips, so if I was going to Civic to skate, I would do any shopping I needed to do as part of the same trip – thereby choosing Civic over a different shopping centre (presumably what they are hoping for). They are just trying to offer people a reason to come to Civic.

There are also plenty of free (outdoor) carparks around Civic at night and on weekends. You just have to walk a little way.

Pommy bastard5:33 pm 07 Mar 11

KaptnKaos said :

It would be great for civic but I fear the fun police will be out in force on this one, people might use it and enjoy it, or someone might get cold, or the classic Canberra excuse to stop everything – it will be too noisy, or young people might use it.

Ha! Not “the fun police”, wait until H&S get wind of it! If they hear that ice can be very slippery, and people may fall over on it, we’re in for no fun at all. We’ll all be made to wear enough padding to pass as Michellin Men, skate only holding onto safety rails, sign insurance waivers, and have to pass a full risk assessment test before being allowed to see it, let alone skate on it..

EvanJames said :

How will an ice rink “attract shoppers”? Seriously. Either you’re heading out to skate, with your bag of skating stuff and dressed appropriately, or you’re heading out to shop, with your shopping bags and dressed appropriately. And with the horrible prices they charge for parking, I can’t see people heading to Civic for a nice long skate. I had one of my bi-annual expeditions to Civic recently to visit a shop that is only in Civic, and remembered why I rarely go there these days.

Crowded roads, nasty high rise parking stations, you’re still a long way from the good bit of Civic, walkwalkwalkwalk, and then back to the high rise parking station, gasp in amazement at what the machine wants you to put in it to get your car out, and then off you go. I am impressed by those who put themselves through that every day.

I fear it will be a Winter Wasteland in Civic.

Is everything in your life that hard?

EvanJames said :

Now there’s a better idea. In the northern hemisphere, some ski resort areas have outdoor ice rinks, usually on ponds or even lakes. Very scenic….

I vote we chill LBG down till it freezes. There could be many benefits. Free up traffic congestion on the bridges and Parks Way by driving along/across it. Kill some of the carp with the temp. The Captain Cook fountain will generate a nice covering of artificial snow on the slopes of Regatta Point.

Of course it will take a lot of power to do this, so I am going to have to suggest that a Nuclear Power Station is built in Hume.

Ahh, nice. It’ll be like a little slice of New York city Rockefeller/Washington Smithsonian/Pentagon City ice skating rink in Canberra.

triffid said :

Where are they gonna keep the Zamboni?

Now there’s a better idea. In the northern hemisphere, some ski resort areas have outdoor ice rinks, usually on ponds or even lakes. Very scenic. And in spring, everyone makes sure they’re watching when the Zamboni does its thing (usually before the evening skating starts up). Because at some point, that Zamboni is going to go through the ice and everyone wants to be there when it does!

I can’t think of a pond that is big enough to do this with though, you’d need a fridge unit here in Canberra, so the Lake’s out. Pond in the middle of the Parkes Way/Cooyong St roundabout maybe?

Holden Caulfield said :

EvanJames said :

I hereby award EJ the best whingey post everrrrrr on RA.

+1

I simpy can’t wait to see this. Will it be an Olympic size 60metre X 30 metre, or just a tank? Where is the fridgey unit wot keeps the ice fruzzed going to go? Fridgey unit couldn’t possibly make that much noise operating could it? Will the ice be outdoors but under cover? What happens if it rains? Where are they gonna keep the Zamboni? Where will all the Zamboni’s shavings go? If it’s gonna be a 60 x 30, can we have it marked out for short track too?

(Anybody guessed yet that I may have hung out at one or two rinks in my time?)

Holden Caulfield3:07 pm 07 Mar 11

EvanJames said :

How will an ice rink “attract shoppers”? Seriously. Either you’re heading out to skate, with your bag of skating stuff and dressed appropriately, or you’re heading out to shop, with your shopping bags and dressed appropriately. And with the horrible prices they charge for parking, I can’t see people heading to Civic for a nice long skate. I had one of my bi-annual expeditions to Civic recently to visit a shop that is only in Civic, and remembered why I rarely go there these days.

Crowded roads, nasty high rise parking stations, you’re still a long way from the good bit of Civic, walkwalkwalkwalk, and then back to the high rise parking station, gasp in amazement at what the machine wants you to put in it to get your car out, and then off you go. I am impressed by those who put themselves through that every day.

I fear it will be a Winter Wasteland in Civic.

Bah humbug. And complaining that civic is too big to walk around has to be one of the better examples of small city syndrome I think I have ever read. The shopping part of civic is just not that big. Really, it isn’t!

I know what you mean about parking though. I parked in the city one Friday night, for almost 4 hours and it cost me five whole dollars; four measly hours. Outrageous!!! I only wish Evan had warned me sooner, haha.

I hereby award EJ the best whingey post everrrrrr on RA.

Great idea I would support for sure.

And it’s not Government funded? Even better.

trevar said :

and it’s terribly extravagant given that they’ve slashed $4 million from the education budget, but let’s face it, they’re going to blow that money on something worthless anyway and the kids are going to miss out regardless of any commonsense, so why not an outdoor ice rink?

Well, its not the govt funding the ice rink. I wonder what education as supplied by Canberra CBD Ltd would cover? Why last years wardrobe needs replacing and you need a new TV.

I hope its better than the winter wonderland tent that toured a few years ago (and went bust) – basically side show alley with a tiny skating rink, too small for just about anything and, when you were finished, it was just cold with expensive sideshow games.

Chop71 said :

Put some snow on the hill and let us board/ski on it.
I can’t skate but I sure can ride a board 🙂

+9000

It would be nice to get some use out of that building.

Shut up, Evan! If you apply logic to their reasoning, we might not get the ice rink! 😉

I think it’s a cool idea (pun intended)… an awful waste of money and of course it will fail to do what they want it to do, and it’s terribly extravagant given that they’ve slashed $4 million from the education budget, but let’s face it, they’re going to blow that money on something worthless anyway and the kids are going to miss out regardless of any commonsense, so why not an outdoor ice rink?

Put some snow on the hill and let us board/ski on it.
I can’t skate but I sure can ride a board 🙂

How will an ice rink “attract shoppers”? Seriously. Either you’re heading out to skate, with your bag of skating stuff and dressed appropriately, or you’re heading out to shop, with your shopping bags and dressed appropriately. And with the horrible prices they charge for parking, I can’t see people heading to Civic for a nice long skate. I had one of my bi-annual expeditions to Civic recently to visit a shop that is only in Civic, and remembered why I rarely go there these days.

Crowded roads, nasty high rise parking stations, you’re still a long way from the good bit of Civic, walkwalkwalkwalk, and then back to the high rise parking station, gasp in amazement at what the machine wants you to put in it to get your car out, and then off you go. I am impressed by those who put themselves through that every day.

I fear it will be a Winter Wasteland in Civic.

I LOVE this idea! I do hope everyone supports this imitative and its open at night!

It would be great for civic but I fear the fun police will be out in force on this one, people might use it and enjoy it, or someone might get cold, or the classic Canberra excuse to stop everything – it will be too noisy, or young people might use it.

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