As record-high winter temperatures wash over a green Prince George, traditional outdoor winter activities have all been put on hold.
One winter staple in Prince George is the Ice Oval, which has had a challenging string of winters and will not be open until mid-January – at best.
That is an estimate from Kathy Lewis, the Ice Oval Society President, who said she can’t recall not having ice this late in a year before.
With tame winters seemingly becoming more common, calls to the city to refrigerate the ice oval are being renewed this year.
“It is an expensive proposition, at some point decisions will have to be made about whether we still want accessible, outdoor skating in Prince George,” Lewis said. “If that is the case, we will have to start moving towards plans for refrigeration.”
She said once temperatures are below -7 they can do multiple floods in every day, and it would take about 10 days to get the oval ready for skaters.
“The cold weather is starting around January 4th, it would be great if we could be open by mid-January,” she said. “How long the season lasts is completely dependent on the weather.”
You can find updates on the Ice Oval’s status here.
In 2022-23, the Ice Oval’s season was cut short by constant freeze-thaw conditions that left massive cracks in the ice that were not safe to skate on.
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