The outdoor ice-skating rink planned for Reading’s Hillside Park will not be built next year.
City Council members voted unanimously to strike the rink’s budget line as part of a series of cuts made before they voted to lower the property tax hike to 6% from 9% for the 2026 budget of $234 million.
Some council members previously raised concerns about the project’s cost, management and repeated relocations.
Council President Donna Reed, one of the rink’s most consistent skeptics, had questioned its cost and practicality throughout the process.
Instead spending money to build a rink, she had suggested the city consider an agreement for skating at the existing Santander Arena, home of the Reading Royals.
When the subject came up at the budget vote, Reed moved to remove the funding. The line item was struck along with several other cuts, including community engagement funds and a newly proposed budget analyst position.
Envisioned by Mayor Eddie Moran and his administration as a seasonal attraction and year-round event space, the rink had cycled through three potential locations.
Each move came after neighborhood objections or concerns about the effect on public space, youth sports or the surrounding environment.
Construction of the rink first began in an area outside the Third and Spruce Recreation Center but was halted when residents complained equipment had disrupted baseball programs on the adjacent Roberto Clemente Memorial Field.
Officials later moved the proposal to City Park, where a two-hour public meeting drew dozens of residents worried about noise, parking, litter and the loss of mature trees.
More recently, the administration shifted its focus to Hillside Park, where officials said a level surface and access to power made the site feasible.
Last month, the city announced its latest plan to incorporate the rink into a $4 million redevelopment of Hillside that includes a splash pad and other amenities funded largely through state and federal grants.
Council members said the decision to remove the rink from the budget was less about rejecting the idea outright and more about recognizing the project’s unresolved problems.