Halifax oval switches from ice to inline skating due to warm weather
Warm temperatures, rain have made maintaining ice at public skate facility difficult, city says
No ice at Halifax's Emera Oval may not be so nice, but the city promises to provide locals with a full winter skating season by making the quick switch to inline skating by Friday.
The city announced today that due to warm temperatures, ice skating at the oval is officially over for the winter season.
But to make sure the public space is open in time for March break, city staff are preparing the facility for inline skating — something that's typically only offered in the summer months.
"There's been some precipitation this week that's made it very challenging for us to keep the ice on the ice-skating surface," said Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Municipality.
"We know that it is very popular with families and in particular during March break, people are looking for ways to get outside and stay active."
A public skate schedule has been posted on the city's website for March 4 to 20. Chase says the new pavilion building will be stocked with about 500 pairs of inline skates.
After March break, the facility will shut down for normal summer preparations. An announcement will be made when it will reopen at a later date, Chase said.
"We're actually going to be staffing up for the summer season over the next few months," she said. "Also, we only budget to have the oval open for certain periods of time."
Around 120,000 people have skated at the oval since it open on Dec. 21, Chase said.