Rinks @ Veterans Park in Norwalk to be Dedicated Thursday by Gov. Malloy, Mayor Rilling

NORWALK, CT — The seasonal Rinks @ Veterans Park in Norwalk will be dedicated Thursday evening, Nov. 10, during an event attended by Gov. Dannel Malloy and Mayor Harry Rilling, according to city officials.

The ribbon-cutting on the completed rinks is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the temporary rinks will allow people to learn how to skate and provide practice facilities for figure skaters and local hockey teams. Norwalk residents will receive discounts on skating lessons and public skating sessions.

According to officials, the rinks are the first seasonal double-surface, regulation ice rinks, covered in a removable structure, ever built.

"This is a unique public/private partnership between the City of Norwalk, Norwalk Recreation and Parks Department and the Rinks at Veterans Park LLC," organizers wrote in a statement. "As part of the agreement, the City of Norwalk school children, which includes over 11,000 students at 19 schools, each will receive one free skating pass and skate rental. There will be community benefit to the school children of Norwalk over the term of the agreement. Also, many local school groups such as the Norwalk/McMahon Co-op High School hockey team can now have more convenient practice times after school, compared to their previous 5 a.m. slot."

The rinks are expected to attract an estimated 400,000 people to historic South Norwalk, and utilize a park that is normally vacant during the winter months. The seasonal facility is over 40,000 square feet and includes:

• Food trucks
• Heated viewing area
• Two regulation size rinks
• Bathrooms
• Repurposed trailers and shipping containers to serve as locker rooms, party rooms and skate rental

"The operation is 100 percent sustainable and environmentally friendly," according to organizers. "This will be a winter wonderland destination for the entire East Coast."

Photo 1 via CTOilersHockey.com; Photo 2 via CT.gov