The idea was a good one and the intention was there.
An outdoor public skating rink outside the General Motors Centre would have been a great way for families to enjoy the outdoors without venturing too far off the beaten path.
But the rink didn’t happen, despite the fact that the structure was there.
According to both the General Manager of the GM Centre Vince Vella and Mayor John Gray, the idea behind the structure was for it to be an ice rink in the winter and a fountain in the summer.
On top of that, the designers of the building threw this ice-rink in as an added bonus. But the rink itself turned out to be more of a lemon.
It never worked, never even operated and ended up costing the GM Centre in operating costs because of its inefficiencies.
That’s a huge disappointment.
While the GM Centre oozes losses for its lack of bookings and then lack of local patronage for what is booked due to lack of local advertising, a skating rink for the public was the least it could offer to ease the public’s anger for footing the bills.
Yes, a skating rink for folks with vendors selling chestnuts, hot chocolate and beaver tails, congers up warm and fuzzy images. As for size of the rink, think intimate. Young children with Mom, Dad or Granny out for some family time.
Now that those images are buried three feet under the dirt, we wonder why this decision wasn’t open for public debate. Would it have been that costly to make the rink work? Generations grew up with outdoor skating rinks made with wooden boards. How difficult could it be to create an ice surface in winter?
If someone simply wanted to flip a switch to go from rink to fountain, Canadians are masters at building ice rinks and working with water (think Rideau Canal, opened in 1832, which links Ottawa to Kingston) someone could have been summoned to solve the issue.
It has been called unsightly, frustrating and a general waste of space.
How about neglected?
The concept was there, someone needed the initiative to make the space inviting. Throw a few benches around in the summer and a fountain would have been beautiful. A rink would have kept the spot alive in the winter.
So much for making lemonade out of a lemon.