Ralph Walker Ice Rink renovations take shape in New Haven

Renderings of the renovated Ralph Walker Ice Rink in New Haven. Renderings of the renovated Ralph Walker Ice Rink in New Haven. Photo: New Haven Engineering Department Photo: New Haven Engineering Department Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Ralph Walker Ice Rink renovations take shape in New Haven 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — The Ralph Walker Ice Rink won’t open this season, but city officials hope the redeveloped site will be ready by next year with a bigger rink, space for seating and a unique view of the city’s most iconic natural landmark.

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said construction on the 50-year-old site started late this summer with work reinforcing the building’s roof.

The bidding process for demolition of the north end of the building was set to start this week. The demolition will help increase the building’s length by 20 feet and will begin a process that will end with a signature piece of the new facility.

“We’re putting some windows in that will give you a direct shot ... (of) the top of East Rock,” Zinn said. “We think that that’s something that’s particularly unique to the facility.”

The entire project is estimated to cost about $2.5 million and is covered by city funds. The rink should be opened by fall 2018.

Zinn said there had been some discussion about possibly opening the rink this season, but it wasn’t feasible due to a bidding process halted by state budget issues. It marks the second consecutive year it won’t be available for the public after it closed in 2016. A plan to host a temporary ice rink at East Shore Park last winter never materialized.

The new facility will feature a larger ice rink, stretching an additional 15 feet: It will now measure 200 feet by 85 feet. The new digs follow National Hockey League specifications for ice rinks. Zinn said this opens up the possibility of high school and college games being held at the ice rink.

“We’re going to have a center-hung scoreboard,” Zinn said, adding that there will likely be between 300 to 500 seating spaces once completed.

City municipal engineer Chris Flanagan said the space for seating will be made available by moving the ice rink about 10 feet toward the parking lot, away from the center of the facility.

“That gives us about 16, 17 feet for bleacher space, so it will be about 4 or 5 rows of seating,” Flanagan said.

Additional work is required to remediate material underneath the ice sheet. Zinn said asbestos and PCBs were found in the tarp-like material underneath the 6-inch concrete slab where the ice sheet rests. Zinn said the material is a slip sheet that reduces friction. It was installed in the 1960s.

“It was very high-quality back in the ’60s,” Zinn said. “So we’re going to be demolishing that soon.”

Crews are painting the interior portion of the rink black, which Zinn said helps bring out the color of the wood. Flanagan said they’re about 90 percent complete on the painting process.

The rink will remain an outdoor rink. Zinn said the city considered the possibility of making an indoor rink, which would allow for year-round access, but such an effort would cost “many millions of dollars” to upgrade.

“We thought that Ralph Walker had this sort of history as an outdoor rink and it was not worth the tripling of the investment or more to get this to a full enclosed rink,” Rink said.

The next phase of the project would be to upgrade to the facility including locker rooms and a fireplace. Zinn said he expects to hold a public meeting soon on how to move forward with improving the indoor facilities.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.