The Iceland ice skating rink in North Sacramento, located along Del Paso Boulevard, is hoping to reopen its doors, with plans to build a roof over the rink.The rink has submitted a permit with the City of Sacramento to begin the building process. The city is currently processing the permit. “Iceland was built in 1940 to a community that just desperately wanted entertainment and things for kids to do,” Rob Kerth said. Kerth’s grandfather opened the rink decades ago. In 2010, an arsonist burned down the roof, but the foundation remained, allowing skaters to return to the ice, weather permitting. “Mother Nature doesn’t like ice in Sacramento in the summer,” Kerth joked. The rink operated without a roof for some time until the pandemic in 2020 forced them to board up. Now, spots where ice once shone are overcome with weeds. Repairs are on the horizon, with plans to preserve the rink as it was, but with a new metal building on top to allow year-round skating. “We’re going to preserve it just like it was in perpetuity, but with a new nice metal building on top so we can skate year-round,” he said. Kerth said he hopes that reopening the rink can help revive the stretch of Del Paso Boulevard that it sits on.”For a community that just… kids need things to do, and we want to make sure they’ve got a great one,” he said. The rink expects to hear comments back from the city on their building permit by December 15. Kerth said the timeline on the rebuilding process is still unclear, but he’s hopeful that skaters will be able to return to the rink before next Christmas.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The Iceland ice skating rink in North Sacramento, located along Del Paso Boulevard, is hoping to reopen its doors, with plans to build a roof over the rink.
The rink has submitted a permit with the City of Sacramento to begin the building process. The city is currently processing the permit.
“Iceland was built in 1940 to a community that just desperately wanted entertainment and things for kids to do,” Rob Kerth said.
Kerth’s grandfather opened the rink decades ago. In 2010, an arsonist burned down the roof, but the foundation remained, allowing skaters to return to the ice, weather permitting.
“Mother Nature doesn’t like ice in Sacramento in the summer,” Kerth joked.
The rink operated without a roof for some time until the pandemic in 2020 forced them to board up. Now, spots where ice once shone are overcome with weeds.
Repairs are on the horizon, with plans to preserve the rink as it was, but with a new metal building on top to allow year-round skating.
“We’re going to preserve it just like it was in perpetuity, but with a new nice metal building on top so we can skate year-round,” he said.
Kerth said he hopes that reopening the rink can help revive the stretch of Del Paso Boulevard that it sits on.
“For a community that just… kids need things to do, and we want to make sure they’ve got a great one,” he said.
The rink expects to hear comments back from the city on their building permit by December 15.
Kerth said the timeline on the rebuilding process is still unclear, but he’s hopeful that skaters will be able to return to the rink before next Christmas.