![]() ![]() ![]() Noll said he doesn’t even know if he’ll be able to volunteer because rink director Maryann Fields, who is in charge of selecting the volunteers, hasn’t let him know about the status of his application that was submitted last month. ![]() They’re also now calling it a “skills and drills” program rather than a team and are changing the name to the Hurricanes. The city now manages it (previously it was run by volunteers), yet rink staff haven’t yet told families when it will start nor organized any meetings. ![]() Noll said while the Winter Frolic event was well attended, with several hundred kids, hot chocolate, and Santa, the city didn’t provide any information about the rec center’s hockey program. UCI works with an outside vendor to do setup, ice maintenance, staffing, and take down of the rink. The public is kept updated through an events hotline, website, and social media. Voldrich noted that they do need to occasionally close the rink if there’s rain or overly warm temperatures, but they do not have a cover. “Once there is a solid base of ice, we can keep the Rink open even in warmer temperatures,” said Becky Voldrich, director of communications at University Circle Incorporated, noting that the rink is kept cold through use of a chiller and coolant. Other outdoor rinks, like the Rink at Wade Oval in University Circle, stay open even in warmer weather. (The Halloran rink is a hybrid rink – it’s outdoors and has no walls, but it has a roof to protect it from rain and snow.) Halloran’s roof, which is slated to get a $2 million rebuild in the spring, leaks water onto the ice, causing mounds of ice to build up that have to be chipped away by hand. to 5:15 p.m., yet it was closed on Saturday, December 3, and much of the week of December 5 due to roof leaks. The city’s online schedule says the rink is open for open skating and other programs Monday to Friday from 12:15-7:15 p.m. The rink opened with its annual Winter Frolic event on Friday, December 2, and the ice was supposed to be open after that. Although it recently opened for the 2022-23 season, the hockey program is now being managed by the city, and Noll said it’s been a struggle to get it going.Ī $1.5 million renovation of the Halloran Park rink was completed a few years ago, but the roof leaks, which means the ice is sometimes unskatable. It was closed for a while during Covid, then hours and numbers were restricted. Unfortunately, accessing it has been more difficult in recent years. The rink underwent a $1.5 million renovation a few years ago, and as a result, the ice here sparkles like never before. They get hooked and love it, and it becomes their identity.”Īs part of Halloran Rec Center, the skating rink is a bit of a magical place, too – it’s the only public rink in the city, and anyone can skate here for free (it costs $1 to rent skates if you don’t have them). “These kids truly love this weird sport they didn’t even know existed. “I don’t hesitate to use the word ‘magical,’” said Nathan Noll, a hockey player and marketing manager at a cybersecurity company who coaches for the league. Although the program was interrupted by Covid, it returned last year to serve dozens of kids in the West Boulevard and Jefferson neighborhoods. The program, called the Halloran Huskies, provides free equipment, ice time, coaching, and the chance to compete in hockey to Cleveland kids who otherwise might not get the chance to play at all. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Noll)įor the past 15 years, a group of hockey parents and community members have organized a free hockey program at Halloran Skating Rink on the city’s west side. Xavier Higgs, Nathan Noll, and Robert Lewis (l-r) at a hockey practice on March 12, 2020. ![]()
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