Mary Alice Reporting –
A crowd gathered on a section of N. 4th Street, in Dennison, as the first skaters went on the synthetic ice rink.
The project idea started earlier this year and with donations and a business partnership, the rink went up once the area was cemented.
Village of Dennison Mayor Greg Didonato says the response has been overwhelming with businesses advertising on the rink siding to general inquires, the most surprising was the response for private rentals of the rink and restaurant reservations that are already booked.
“What you see here is somebody comes down having a birthday party [and then] a lot of them will use one of the restaurants or the hall, and that will increase the business of those facilities. We are already seeing the benefits of it in the downtown activity.’
The Mayor notes that this addition keeps in line with the village’s vision for revitalizing the downtown to bring in out of county tourists but also gives Tuscarawas County residents a location to enjoy during the winter.
“This seems to be one of those voids where in the winter, where there’s not much for kids to do any more, so the idea of trying to develop this for kids to have a safe, healthy activity, a family activity, was the main thing that drove this.”
The synthetic ice is made of panels and will be taken up and stored for the summer, which leaves the concrete area at the gazebo for weddings, concerts, and other events.
The village spent $129,000 for the improvements at Heritage Park and the rink was purchased through community donations and advertisements, so no tax payer dollars were used. DiDonato adds that the rink is not operated by Dennison.
The rink officially opens November 10th and for more details, find their Facebook page at The Dennison Ice Rink.
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