Refrigerated Ice is Back!
(From November 2005)

 

The much anticipated return of artificial ice to the Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval is now complete. We started compressors last Wednesday morning and began the flooding process overnight Wednesday/Thursday. Thursday evening we installed the bandy lines (Speed Skating Lines are visible on the concrete surface) and Guidant in-ice logos before continuing to build ice over night Thursday/Friday. Mother Nature provided a little natural flooding for us on Saturday. Sunday night we put the finishing touches on the initial ice building process.  Now, as the weather has turned a bit colder, we are installing the perimeter pads and finishing other miscellaneous tasks.

I know this has been a long process for all of the users of the Oval. I appreciate your patience and willingness to help get the Oval back in operation. Once again, I want to thank the Guidant Foundation for their generous contribution which helped get us over the construction hurdle and has provided a mechanism for future operation of the Oval. Also, the Friends of the Oval Foundation is hosting its "Chill" Coolest Gala in Town event on Saturday November 19th, 2005 at the Skating Center. If you have not purchased your ticket yet, please call.