Outdoor skating glides into Flossmoor Park with two new rinks

The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District is using a new technology to provide outdoor skating opportunities at Flossmoor Park.

The park district believes the new system will save time and offer better opportunities for residents to get out and enjoy the skating rinks. 

The new system uses strong plastic forms that act as rinks "and will hold the water longer. We don't have to wait for the frost to settle in, just need cold temperatures to freeze what is in the system," said Doug Boehm, superintendent of parks and planning.

The 120-foot by 88-foot rink is for ice hockey and the 76-foot by 88-foot rink is for figure skating.

Under the old system, park district employees had to wait "until the ground was frozen and frost had set in. Then we began spraying around the clock to establish the ice," explained Doug Boehm, superintendent of parks and planning.

 

The new system was placed in the park in November in anticipation of winter temperatures. The liners have a life of three to five years. Park district staff filled them 4-inches deep in anticipation of cold weather.

 

The park district set skating hours from daylight to dusk. Boehm said he knows in the past there have been skaters into the evening hours, and the park district asks that skaters be mindful of the neighbors around the park.

Residents can check social media or the park district's website at hfparks.com for updates on when the ice is ready for skating.

"It's been a mild winter, for sure. We will also have signs out there (in the park) stating it's okay to skate," Boehm said.