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Wheaton's lighted ice rinks now open

Two lighted, outdoor ice rinks are now open for free public use at the Wheaton Park District's Central Athletic Complex, 500 S. Naperville Road.

The district will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring skating performances at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14.

"We're excited to introduce these great amenities to downtown Wheaton, and to continue to improve the Central Athletic Complex, with more projects coming later this year," Wheaton Park District Executive Director Mike Benard said.

Located on the east side of the complex's athletic fields, the rinks can accommodate up to 288 skaters at a time. Measuring 5,800 square feet, the smaller of the pair hosts ice hockey, and the larger, at 8,600 square feet, hosts open skate. Skate rental and concessions are not provided.

The rinks are open 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily through winter. Portable warming shelters and indoor restrooms are open 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. Additional hours for the shelters may take effect during school breaks and holidays.

Benches and an ADA-accessible restroom trailer are on-site, and food and nonalcoholic beverages are permitted off the ice. Per ordinance, smoking and alcoholic beverages are prohibited on district property.

The district's parks services department grooms the ice with a resurfacing machine as needed. Depending on crowd size, resurfacing intermissions should occur a few times per day.

"We want to remind everyone that when the red flags are flying, we ask them to please stay off the ice," Benard said. "Green means go and red means no."

Guests can check the rinks' status from home and subscribe for frequent updates at wheatonparkdistrict.com/status-updates.

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