This winter, the annual Ice at Santa Monica event is getting a significant upgrade with an all-new and much improved rink, plus hangout areas, a firepit, food and merchandise stalls, live music, radio or DJ and even a seasonal-themed projection on the side of the adjacent Bank of America building.
Every year, the corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue is transformed into an ice skating rink, but this year, Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) has partnered with specialist company Willy Bietak Productions, Inc. to produce something never seen before in the city.
“This year there are a lot of changes,” Jeremy Ferguson, Operations & Placemaking Director for DTSM said. “It’s 25% bigger than any other previous year, there will be s’mores from S’moreology, clear boarding around the boundary edges to create a bigger, more open experience, plus everything is all geared around being as environmentally friendly and reusable as possible.”
In previous years, the rink had been constructed upon tons of flattened sand, but as Ferguson explains, that wasn’t particularly cost effective and it was extremely problematic to clear up afterwards. This year, the entire ice rink structure has been constructed upon a wooden framework that has been painstakingly laid flat over the uneven surface of the parking lot space using laser levels.
“Every single piece of wood used has been carefully cut to size, numbered and indexed, this way we can expect to be able to rebuild and recreate exactly the same structure for the next five years or so without having to use any new or additional materials,” said Matthew Kessinger, Project Director for Willy Bietak Productions.
The Santa Monica-based company has a long history of installing ice rinks throughout the state of California, including projects at Union Square in San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles. It was founded by an Austrian-born, national pair skating champion and Olympic contender Wilhelm Bietak. Following his retirement from competitive skating, Bietak started his skating rink-related events company over 30 years ago.
According to Kessinger, restaurant-grade propylene glycol is pumped through a closed system that super cools aluminum panels and before long forms ice. “Because it’s restaurant-grade propylene glycol, it’s not toxic in any way,” he says.
In total, there’s going to be approximately 16,000 square feet of decking with the rink taking up about 130 by 60 square feet. The rest of the space will have artificial turf laid over the top to further enhance the experience and ultimately make the site look infinitely more attractive.
“The grand opening is on November 9, so that’ll be the big community event, but we’re going to have a soft opening on November 1,” says Ferguson, adding, “That first week is really an opportunity for us to work out the operational bugs and then we’ll be open all the way through January 15.”
Photograph: Mandy Zelinka
The single biggest concern for Ferguson, Kessinger and their team is the potential threat of a New Year as wet as January 2023 was, with current predictions suggesting another El Niño might bring above-average rainfall to the area.
“Actually rain isn’t too much of a problem, unless of course it’s a really hard, driving rain. Rain helps us because it’ll make ice. Our biggest problem is wind, the friction from the wind will cause the ice to melt,” Kessinger says.
Tickets can be purchased from the website, iceatsantamonica.com and admission for a one hour session, including skates, is $22, locker rental is $5, gloves $5, socks $5 and a skate helper will cost $6. The opening hours will be noon to 10 p.m. every day, each week.