by Dan Stoltman
Kremmling Town Manager
The Ice Rink we have in Kremmling is something you do not often find in a small community like ours; an Olympic size rink with full boards and glass, a roof, a Zamboni, locker rooms, restrooms, and even a concession stand. While this facility is great, we have a goal of making it better for everyone and optimize its year-round use. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the ice has melted away due to the weather, but we will be flooding the rink soon.
Our goal to improve the use of the rink is not as simple as it sounds, and that is primarily due to the fact the Town does not have staff dedicated to the rink at this time. This is something we are working to improve upon. One way we are achieving that is by having the Cattle Kings hockey club teach Town staff how to operate the Zamboni and lay ice. The Cattle Kings hockey club has been an especially important part of keeping the rink going and that relationship will continue.
But we always have room for more help, if anyone wants to be involved in the rink to help us make it a better experience, please contact us at Town Hall. Working with the community is a vital key to success, especially with recreation activities.
We are also working on some improvements to make the rink more usable for all. Those updates include putting the rink lights on an automated timer so that everything is lit up after dark and is usable between operating hours. We are also doing our best to keep the ice fresh by running the Zambonis on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the locker rooms and restrooms will remain closed for the time being due to COVID-19 and not having staff available to monitor the use of those facilities. But the ultimate goal is to have the ice rink fully open and staffed in the future.
The Town, along with the Cattle Kings, is working to build up a better skate rental inventory so those who do not have skates can still come out and have fun.
If anyone has a pair of skates they would like to donate or sell, please reach out to us at Town Hall.
We will also be implementing a skating schedule that will allow for a better experience for those who want to open skate and for those who want to open skate with sticks and pucks. We want those who do not skate with sticks and pucks to have a safe experience, and we want those who do skate with sticks and pucks to have the ice for their kind of use. Therefore, the schedule has three-hour blocks for each type of skating that rotate. Of course, if you want to play a game of hockey or celebrate a birthday on the ice, you can always rent the ice for a private event.
We want everyone to get out and enjoy this fabulous facility and we are working hard to make it a great experience for everyone. If you have ideas, comments, or suggestions on how we can make the rink even better, please feel free to come and see us at Town Hall.
