Update: Jan. 30, 1:15 p.m.- Peconic Ice Rinks’ Westfall Arena has reopened. Rink director Kevin McCormack said the rink is again open for skating as of Friday afternoon. Town officials gave the rink the green light to open back up today, he said.
McCormack expressed appreciation to the town and to rink employees for working hard to get the facility back online after a shutdown resulting from last weekend’s heavy snow. The snow caused a partial deflation of the dome and, as the dome shed sheets of ice, a couple of tears that required repairs. Town officials prohibited re-occupancy until clearance by an independent engineer.
Previous post: The Peconic Hockey Foundation continues to work with the Town of Riverhead to ensure that the bubble domed ice rink at Veterans Memorial Park is safe for occupancy.
The rink remained closed Wednesday after it partially deflated Monday under the weight of accumulated snow and ice from the winter storm that impacted the local area Sunday into early Monday morning.
The Riverhead fire marshal on Monday issued an “unsafe structure” order, requiring that the dome remain closed to the public until an independent engineer with expertise in dome construction certifies that the rink is safe for public occupancy, Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin said Tuesday.
The rink had been closed Sunday due to the snow storm. When staff arrived at the rink Monday morning, they found “a slight deflation” of the dome. according to rink director Kevin McCormack.
The rink operator was able to fully re-inflate the dome, but a significant amount of snow and ice remained on its top.
Prior story: Peconic Ice Rink dome partially deflates under weight of snow and ice following weekend storm
Workers spent two days working to break up the accumulated snow and ice on top of the dome and removing snow accumulations from the sides of the structure, McCormack said.
Wednesday morning, when rink employees arrived at the dome, they found the last of the sheets of ice and snow had dislodged and slid to the ground, McCormack said. In the process, the ice and snow made “two small tears” in the dome’s fabric, he said. The tears were repaired Wednesday by a contractor the the rink uses to maintain and repair the dome as needed, he said. The dome did not deflate as a result of the tears, McCormack said.
“When a dome sheds a large amount of ice and snow, it can tear,” McCormack said, Wednesday. That’s what happened overnight, he said, sometime between when workers left the rink at 6 pm. Tuesday and arrived at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
“We are working with the engineer and the town to get permission to reopen and occupy the rink again,” McCormack said. He said he was hopeful that could be as soon as Thursday.
“We’re taking it day by day,” he said. “Safety is our top priority.”
Halpin did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday. The town fire marshal did not respond to a voicemail message left Tuesday.
Council Member Ken Rothwell, an advocate for the deal that brought the ice rink to the town park, said Wednesday afternoon he was aware of the situation with the rink and is confident that it would be resolved as quickly as possible, ensuring that it is safe for occupancy and skating. There are other bubble dome rinks that successfully operate in areas that regularly get more snow than Long Island, he noted.
The Town of Riverhead owns the rink, which it leases to the rink operator, Peconic Hockey Foundation.
Peconic Hockey Foundation bought the dome from the Town of Cranston, Rhode Island in 2022. The foundation built and equipped the rink and then, pursuant to a 15-year agreement approved by the Town Board in October 2022, donated the rink to the town in exchange for the right to occupy, operate and manage the facility at the town-owned park.
The rink, named the Ed Westfall Arena, officially opened in November 2023.
Read more Peconic Hockey Foundation coverage
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