A beloved hot spot to cool off in Houston is set to close late this summer, but one group continues to fight its closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ice rink\u00a0inside\u00a0Memorial City Mall<\/a> is set to close on July 31 due to mall renovations, per an email to customers obtained by the Houston Chronicle’s Ralph Green<\/a>. Opened in 2004, the ice rink hosted a variety of events at the popular suburban Houston mall, including youth hockey games, ice-skating lessons and practices, and, popular with many Houstonians, birthday parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ice Skate Memorial City, the managing arm of the ice rink, last updated its website in early April, noting it would temporarily close for repairs to “crucial infrastructure.”\u00a0Its email to customers on Friday appeared to wave the white flag on the ice rink’s future, with the ice rink set to be replaced during the mall’s upcoming\u00a0$8.75 million renovations<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We recognize this news can be difficult. Over the years, the rink has been home to practices, competitions, lessons and friendships that have shaped this community,” the email said. “We are sincerely grateful to the athletes, coaches, staff, parents and user groups who have made the rink a special place over the years.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Customers and friends of the mall’s ice rink aren’t so resigned to a future without the community landmark. A petition launched in 2023 was updated in recent days and recently gained steam online, receiving over 1,000 digital signatures online on\u00a0Change.org<\/a> as of Monday morning. The petition urges MetroNational\u2014the company that manages Memorial City Mall\u2014to either reconsider the ice rink’s closure or commit to building a replacement rink, noting “we support growth and improvements\u2014but not at the cost of losing something that serves thousands of Houstonians every year.”\u00a0<\/p>\n A handful of petition signers offered personal endorsements and anecdotes about the ice rink, including Iris Hanszen<\/a>, a Houston native and US Figure Skating Gold Medalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I train and coach at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. While I no longer live in Houston, I am infuriated to see that Ice Skate Memorial City will be closing its doors,” Hanszen wrote. “I owe my career to Ice Skate Memorial City. Without this rink, I never would have stepped foot on the ice. … Without Memorial, I never would have met my best friends, found my forever career, or been able to inspire athletes to reach beyond their limits.<\/p>\n “I am disappointed to see that money is being prioritized over the impact of sport. This community is unlike anything l’ve ever seen, and no matter what the outcome ultimately is, I do know that this family will not go down without a fight.”<\/p>\n The fight to save the ice rink at Memorial City Mall is plenty active online. Will that ultimately save the rink from demolition? That’s unlikely, at least per MetroNational.\u00a0<\/p>\n “As part of the upcoming relocation and construction of the mall’s main entrance, it will not be possible to maintain the required ice conditions once construction begins,” a MetroNational representative told KHOU’s Randy Klein<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ice rink at Memorial City Mall was one of two ice rinks in the greater Houston area. Ice at the\u00a0Galleria is still active, opened in 1972.\u00a0<\/p>\n