How an unlikely outdoor ice rink helped energize ‘famously hot’ Columbia’s downtown

In a city where shorts and T-shirts are completely unironic winter fashion, it’s somewhat surprising to find an open-air ice rink in the middle of downtown, much less thriving there.

The Welch family – Amber and Justin and their children, 13-year-old Christian and 9-year-old Micaelin – never thought they’d find a place to ice skate outdoors after moving from Alaska to Columbia. But at the advice of a neighbor, they discovered Main Street Ice and have made it a family outing for the past two years.

“At this time of year, tradition is tradition,” Amber Welch said.

She and Christian watched her husband and daughter skate on a rink crowded with a few dozen people – parents and kids, teenagers, young couples – as the sun set on a 70-degree December afternoon.

In its six seasons, the unlikely Main Street Ice skating rink has become a place-making, character-defining feature of a revitalized downtown scene.

Columbia’s Main Street is nearly unrecognizable compared to what it was a decade ago. Restaurants, stores, arts, culture and a slew of new residents have transformed what was recently a dull 9-to-5 district.

“Can you imagine five or 10 years ago saying we’re going to have a bowling alley, movie theater and ice skating rink on Main Street?” said Matt Kennell, president and CEO of City Center Partnership and the Main Street District, which have played an instrumental role in recent downtown development.

Main Street Ice was launched by the city in 2012, in part to reintroduce people to a Main Street they might not have visited in years. It since has carved a cozy seasonal niche into an increasingly energetic downtown.

And it has become part of the network of downtown businesses feeding off of and contributing to one another’s success.

“I have no doubt people go see ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ at The Nickelodeon and then go down to the ice rink and then go to Michael’s (restaurant) or The Grand (bowling alley),” Kennell said.

Attracted to ice

Before her birthday dinner at a surprise location downtown, 18-year-old Paula Merida was treated to a Main Street Ice date by her boyfriend, 20-year-old Morgan Taylor.

For the Gilbert couple, the ice rink was their “sole reason for coming downtown” that evening, Taylor said.

Main Street Ice is popular enough now that it could succeed even if it weren’t at the heart of Main Street, said Scot Riley, an athletic specialist for city parks and recreation.

“It’s done its job” of attracting crowds, said Riley, who has helped manage the rink all six seasons of its operation. “People like to do this. I don’t know that it has anything to do with Main Street at this point.”

The ice might not return to Main Street a year from now.

Renovations next year to Boyd Plaza, where the rink sits outside the Columbia Museum of Art, mean there won’t be a spot there for Main Street Ice anymore. City officials are considering other possible locations.

Mayor Steve Benjamin said he will do anything to keep the ice rink alive – including giving up his City Hall parking space if the rink has to go in the parking lot, he said, somewhat jokingly.

The rink would do well to find a home in another area that’s close to other walkable attractions, Kennell said. In fact, the City Hall parking lot in the 1700 block of Main Street just might be an ideal place, he said.

Relocating the ice rink there could help push development and good energy farther north on Main Street, Kennell said.

Heat doesn’t melt enthusiasm

Some have doubted the ice rink all along. How could an outdoor ice rink succeed in this climate? And how can city leaders justify spending tens of thousands of dollars on it each year?

The ice copes impressively with Columbia’s “famously hot” climate, Riley said. It’s not until outdoor temperatures reach about 70 or 75 degrees that the rink is in danger of shutting down. Rain is a much bigger enemy, he said.

And the kids don’t seem to mind at all when the ice gets a little slushy, Riley said.

The odd combination of warm Columbia weather and ice only enhances the novelty of the ice rink, the mayor said.

The children of St. Peter’s downtown Catholic school made the one-block march from school to the ice rink for an exceptionally cool physical education class recently.

“There’s upsides and downsides” to ice skating on a warm day, said 11-year-old Harrison Gnirrep, a St. Peter’s sixth-grader. “The upside is it doesn’t have to be freezing outside. But the downside is you don’t get, like, an authentic experience.”

A money-loser, but an investment

Warm or cold, tens of thousands of people have skated at Main Street Ice over the past six winters.

The city did not provide requested attendance, revenue and cost figures in time for this story’s publication. But past reporting by The State newspaper showed more than 30,000 people total skated in the first three seasons the rink was open.

The rink has run more than a quarter of a million dollars in the red since 2012, according to past reports by The State. It loses more money than it makes each year, to the tune of $80,000 or more some years.

Making a profit would be nice, city parks and recreation director Randy Davis said, but “it’s almost impossible.”

And profit isn’t the point of Main Street Ice, Benjamin said. It’s an investment in residents’ quality of life, he said.

“I think it’s a worthwhile investment,” Benjamin said. “It’s unique and it’s fun and it’s one of the very small things we could do that has helped, I believe, continue to redefine Columbia into a place where quality of life is becoming our calling card.”

It’s a memory-making place:

For 12-year-old Destiny Green, who couldn’t wait to bring her best friend along on her next trip to the rink.

For birthday girl Merida, who took home a souvenir bump on the head from a fall on the ice, but carried it with a smile.

And for Kathi Spencer, whose eyes lit up as she watched her 10 grandchildren skate under the night lights on a cool, clear evening.

“They’ll always remember this,” she said. “They won’t remember what I got them for Christmas, but they will remember this.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "How an unlikely outdoor ice rink helped energize ‘famously hot’ Columbia’s downtown."