Skate the Boulevard

Ice skating. It’s a classic Canadian pastime. And, during this COVID winter, the demand has increased to exorbitant levels. So when our client, Shape Properties, approached us to consider building a skating rink for them, we knew that this was going to be a very COVID-friendly project. And as a set construction company, this felt like a project that was right up our alley.

Deerfoot City is an outdoor mall located in Calgary Alberta and they were looking for something that would bring people to their shops at a time when retail sales were low due to the pandemic. We started by designing the rink together. They had a very clear location, but we had to build support for the ice at the bottom and add boards to control the number of people on the rink. But these boards could not look like hockey boards, they had to be refined and offer some sponsorship space. Because of that, our designer created a few renderings for the client. Once those were settled on, our construction manager turned them into 3D renderings to finalize the end product. As soon as we got the go-ahead, the build began.

From the get-go, we suggested synthetic ice to this client. Calgary is notorious for prairie chinooks that can warm up a place in a day so having this ice would allow Deerfoot City to commit to the appointments that their guests made. Working with PowerIce we were able to install a rink that could be used in any and all-weather, custom fit to the exact size we needed and offering minimal upkeep on the client’s part.

Once the rink design was complete, we discovered that we had space for a grand entrance. We settled on an enormous star, complete with LED lighting throughout. While the star adds a fantastic focus to the design, it took a number of welding hours, 8000lbs of ballast, and a crane to install it! The addition of LED lighting around the rink enhanced the existing carnival lights and allowed Deerfoot City to offer more appointments than they could have during daylight hours.

Our set construction company built a glossy high-end outdoor experience for Deerfoot City shoppers. The rink is still open to Calgarians, even during the pandemic. So take time and book your appointment to skate today!