The city of Goshen planning to build a new ice rink that could sit on the campus of Goshen College

 

GOSHEN, Ind -- The city of Goshen approves for a study that could land a new ice rink in the city.

Mayor Stutsman and the city of Goshen proposed this idea in 2017 but it was iced in 2020 due to money concerns when Covid arrived.

Now over this past weekend the city approved a $38,000 dollar study on the potential build on the east edge of Goshen College.

While the study is underway experts from surrounding cities that already have an ice rink say they think it’s a great move for the maple city.

"So I think that’s what Goshen will experience as well is that it will bring people into Goshen and support downtown businesses and allow for a better opportunity for the residents as well," said Elkhart City Parks Superintendent Jamison Czarnecki.

Some residents asking city officials to consider placing the ice rink in a more central location such as downtown to afford more opportunities which doesn’t seem to be a bad idea.

"It brings something to people that they hadn’t seen before and it’s a nice experience. Being that it’s downtown, the local merchants, the downtown businesses, they all reap the benefits of it being down there. People don’t just come to ice-skate and then take off. They’ll go out, they’ll enjoy their families, they’ll have a nice bite to eat. So, it allows for people to not just people to enjoy themselves and for benefit for themselves and wellness in the parks but also an economic driver into the downtown area," said Czarnecki.

When discussions originally took off the estimated cost of 8 million dollars eventually tripled raising concerns in the midst of the pandemic.

Today visitors of other local ice rinks say they traveled down from Michigan to the nearest rink because it’s an experience you can’t put a price on.

"No it shouldn’t be a thing. It’s the memories that the families get to experience that they take pictures and have the experiences they get to do that a lot of people don’t get to experience," said Elkhart ice rink visitor Jared Lyman.

"We traveled down here from Michigan because they don’t have an outdoor rink. They only have indoor rinks and this is special because it’s outside. So, this is special because it’s outside. So, you’re out in the snow, you can see the snow and it’s beautiful. Where we come from we don’t have things like this," said Elkhart ice rink visitor Syntrica Crawford. 

The city is exploring multiple options for funding as they want to do their best to save money during the pandemic.