The Prince George Ice Oval is putting a bow on its most successful winter season in recent memory.
Chief Ice Maker, Lyle Dickeson says they were able to stay open for long stretches of time compared to year’s past.
“We had a great year this year, we were open 98 days and I think we saw over 16,000 visitors this year so we had a really great turnout,” says Lyle Dickeson, Chief Ice Maker of PG Ice Oval.
The winter season saw several special events including a long-track meet along with the Prince George Iceman as well as youth biathlon competition.
The facility shut down for the season earlier this month after temperatures reached ten degrees Celsius.
Dickeson gives a lot of the credit to their volunteers who stuck it out during minus twenty-five-degree temperatures and significant snowfall amounts during the season.
He adds they came through in spades during a stormy February.
“Our volunteer crew of guys we get up early on a big snow day like that and get out there and start clearing everything as quick as we can to get everybody skating and by the time we get one of those big snowfalls it takes about three or four hours worth of clearing to put it all in place.”
As far as the weather is concerned, everything turned out just right to have pristine conditions on a daily basis.
“All we need is cold and we can make great ice,” added Dickeson.
“We’re relying on mother nature and when it turns cold then we can do our job, the hard part this year was dealing with all of the snow just like everyone in town and that kept us pretty busy but the low temperatures gave us some really nice ice.”
Dickeson says they are now in the fundraising stage as they are trying to chill the oval to make it refrigerated so it can better withstand some of the warmer temperatures during the spring.
Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible donation can visit Prince George City Hall.