Ice skating rink to open in Ponderay

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Anybody growing up in North Idaho can attest that ice skating is a sport that usually happens only when conditions are just right. It can’t be too warm or cold; there can’t be too much snow on the ground; and, even when ice forms on ponds or lakes, the surface might be too uneven to allow for good skating.

All that’s in the past now, with the grand opening of The Pond presented by STCU, a public ice rink in Ponderay. The Pond will open at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29 with a ribbon cutting and tree-lighting ceremony. Visit skatethepond.com to purchase tickets to skate, which cost $10 for those aged 18 and under and $15 for general admission. Both admission prices include skate rentals. Families of up to 10 can skate for $50. With 200 pairs of rental skates, The Pond can provide for everyone.

The project is a collaboration between the city of Ponderay and North Idaho Ice, a nonprofit organization formed with the intention of facilitating the construction of a winter sports venue specific to ice sports. The majority of the work and services, though, were donated by local businesses or community members.

City of Ponderay Planning Director and Project Manager KayLeigh Miller said The Pond is the kind of project that highlights just how powerful a community of people can be when they work toward a common goal.

“We had a lot of people who helped make this happen,” Miller told the Reader.

The Pond ice rink at night under the lights. Photo by KayLiegh Miller.

Gardner Custom Homes donated a zamboni shed, Selkirk Energy Solutions chipped in with insulation, Northwest Garage Doors donated doors to the building and Avista dropped power for free. In addition, Mountain Metals, Burnett Electric, North Idaho Orthopedics and Advanced Drywall Concepts all contributed to the effort. Finally, STCU donated $15,000 for naming rights to the rink.

Miller said The Pond wasn’t funded by the city’s 1% local option sales tax, which helped pay for the Field of Dreams project but was turned down for renewal by voters in the November 2024 election. However, she is hopeful that the LOT passes the next time it’s on the ballot to help fund future phases, which will see an arena set up with a cover over the ice. Locker rooms and concessions are also in the works for the next phase, in what Miller describes as a “stair-step approach.”

“What I love about this is, for a fraction of the cost, we’ll be able to see the interest in the community, track ticket numbers and the number of bodies who visit The Pond,” Miller said. “Starting small helps us show this to the community. This is a $200,000 way to try it out instead of a $2 million dollar way.”

The Pond was constructed by grading the soil and covering it with compacted sand, said Tim Wilson, with North Idaho Ice.

“Then, on top of that, we laid 12 miles of half-inch tubing where we pump the glycol, which is the same stuff they use in a hydronic floor in a house,” he said.

The tubing acts as a chiller, which keeps the ice at the optimal temperature no matter what the weather is doing outside.

With the side boards locked into place, volunteers began the ice-building process, with a little help from the fire department spraying water on the surface to allow for freezing. After multiple thin layers have formed, the ice is set at around four inches.

“The chillers have enough power so we should be able to run this even on a 70-degree sunny day,” Wilson said.

Along with public skating sessions, Miller said The Pond will serve a variety of uses.

“I look at this as a catalyst to start a future hockey program,” she said. “We’re going to be offering stick and puck sessions where anyone can show up to practice shooting around the ice with it.”

That’s the driving force for Wilson and fellow NIICE Board Member Travis Taylor, whose passion for sharing hockey with the community has culminated in the public rink.

“I have a young son and I got into this wanting him to grow up with the great hockey experience that I did when I was a kid,” Wilson said.

Wilson said he was pleasantly surprised to find that though he started the project with a focus on hockey, he now sees The Pond as a wider way to involve the community in winter sports.

“Seeing how the community reacted to this rink, it’s a feel-good thing,” he said. “I never thought it would be so personally gratifying.”

Aside from public skating and hockey uses, The Pond will be available to rent for private parties, figure skating groups or other causes.

“There’s even a group of guys who drive down from Canada to use the rink in Coeur d’Alene for curling, so I suspect we’ll start to see a lot of fun stuff coming out of the woodwork,” Miller said.

To learn more about NIICE, visit niicearena.com. To book sessions to skate at The Pond, located at 995 Kootenai Cutoff Road, visit skatethepond.com.