UPDATED: New Ice Rink Might Be Coming to North Reading

An indoor ice skating facility and community center are in the works for North Reading. 

Twelve-year North Reading resident Pierre Ancri is working with the Parks Department and North Reading Skating Association (NRSA) to create the new place for North Reading's youth to get out on the ice. 

"Ideally, it would be one combined structure," Ancri said of the preliminary plan. "We'd like to have the community center looking down on the ice skating rink."

The arena would host hockey games and free-skating sessions, and provide lessons for skating, hockey, and figure skating.

Some early ideas for the community center include a basketball court, yoga studio, and room for elders to read to young children.  

"Anything people would like to see, we are trying to incorporate," Ancri said. "The differences in our community are so rich, I think they should be shared."

Several locations were proposed for the indoor rink, including the Wal-Mart Softball Field, but the optimum choice is behind the Rec Center on Central Street, according to a report released by rink supporters.

Construction would be done in six phases, totaling $1.918 million. The construction would be funded by the NRSA. The maintenance and operating costs will be covered by programs at the rink and fundraising.

When completed, the arena would have a food concessionaire, skate shop, and player and referee locker rooms; the bleachers would accomodate 1,100 people. 

The indoor facility would take more than a year to construct, but an outdoor skating rink would be ready for the winter. Having both an indoor and outdoor skating rink would allow the community to enjoy skating all year.

Currently, active skaters and hockey players have to travel to a nearby town to skate; the three closest rinks are the Burbank Ice Arena in Reading, the McVan-O'Keefe Skating Rink in Peabody, and the Ristuccia Memorial Arena in Wilmington. 

If the town sides with an outdoor skating rink, it would be located at and open for hockey, free skating, skating socials, and more.

Ancri said, "We are looking for feedback from the community to ensure that their values are going to be put into this project."

Regarding the possibility of an ice rink in town, North Reading Parks & Recreation Committee and Department said, "We had a private citizen's request to discuss an outdoor open air public skating rink. One of the locations being looked at is a location behind the Recreation Center at Ipswich River Park. We are currently in preliminary talks about the dynamic and scope of the request. We have done nothing more than hear the request and look at the options."

He plans to hold a meeting, open to the public, to discuss the new facility. Until then, email all suggestions and concerns to Ancri at jwpca10@gmail.com.