Closures adding to Outdoor Ice Oval’s call for refrigeration

PRINCE GEORGE – This Arctic Outbreak that Prince George has been experiencing this week is set to come to an end sometime early next week, according to Environment Canada.

With that, the Outdoor Ice Oval is worried they may experience conditions to force yet another closure due to changes in the ice surface.

This year, they’ve already had to close a number of times due to fluctuating conditions, which has pushed their message in fundraising for an eventual refrigeration system.

“It’s pretty expensive. It’s going to be between five and six million dollars and is going to consist of a cement surface and then the pipes would be underneath that,” said the Ice Oval’s President Kathy Lewis. “The concrete surface would give us an opportunity to use the oval in the summer months for inline skating or kids learning to ride a bike.”