Skating Center a Place of True Warmth

By: Jackie Sheridan
Posted In: Entertainment

A cheery rendition of “Frosty the Snowman” whistles from the speakerphones and dances in the air. A small cape-style building with weathered shingles displays a navy blue lacquered sign that reads “TICKETS,” and around a corner, its twin designates “CONCESSIONS.” The building is adorned with festive green garland and crimson bows, and its windows face a five-year old and 9,000 square foot ice rink.

There is a myriad of young and old skating around the arena. Bundled up in gloves, scarves, and mittens, some with sunglasses to yield the late afternoon sun, the skaters circle the rink in a gentle counterclockwise pageant, passing by the backdrop of the giant lighted tree with its slightly crooked star.

A couple slices by, holding hands. Children are laughing, pulling each other on sleds around the frozen playground; some are clinging to the sides of the rink watching or waiting for friends, or looking for the next burst of energy to propel them back onto the ice. An older generation of spectators resides on benches, and hears the frequent slam of skates against the batter boards, sometimes simultaneously witnessing the rare slip and fall of a fellow adult.

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time to practice those skating skills! Please change direction! Please change direction,” a voice over the loudspeaker booms.

And as the skaters make an awkward turnabout, the start of the next melody begins, with the soft and lulling vibrancies that capture a sense of holiday community at the Sovereign Bank Family Skating Center at the Newport Yachting Center.

Sleighbells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening.

Dana Henning, a resident of Jamestown, kneels on a wooden bench at the side of the rink, looking on as her husband and two of her four children move along the boards. It is their first time visiting the Newport ice rink, as well as their first time to an outdoor skating center. Every few minutes, Henning’s 12-year old son and young daughter skate over for her approval before moving on.

“We usually go December and January,” Henning said about the holiday custom, mentioning a few of their other family traditions, including building gingerbread houses, driving around to look at lights, making ornaments, and baking cookies. “It’s a nice change to being outside.I can remember ice skating when I was little,” she said. “I remember going in the evening and there being moonlight.it was a neat experience.”

The Hennings are just one of the many families that enjoy the atmosphere of the popular Newport skating rink during the winter months. Since its opening in November of 2000, all ages have been drawn to the gleam of the ice.
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In 1995, according to the Providence Journal, Chris Perrotti, the general manager of a downtown marina, first presented his dream of opening an ice rink to the Newport Yachting Center. Five years later, the dream would become a reality.

The 9,000 square foot ice rink, half the size of Rockefeller Center, would hold a capacity of 450 skaters. A cooling system was first installed at the intersection of Thames Street and America’s Cup Avenue. On top they lay a sheet of ice, and then painted the layer of ice white, so that the pipes from the cooling system were not seen. They lay more ice and more paint, until the basis of the rink had come to realization. It was originally sponsored by the Born shoe company, until it’s closing last year, when the skating center was immediately picked up by Sovereign Bank.

Today, Lindsey Potter, Rink Manager, helps Perrotti keep the rink in good shape, and remembers the point of starting out. The winter was the selling and planning time, she recalls, and Perrotti thought the rink would entertain the community during the quiet winter months.

Now, the Sovereign Family Skating Center is home to many wintertime festivities, including the annual tree lighting ceremony, which was held two weekends ago. Events like this are extremely crowded, says Potter, and a few hundred people will normally attend. Other celebrations, including this Saturday, a “Skate with Santa,” will draw family crowds.

However, the rink is also host to private corporate parties, birthday parties, and player appearances from the Providence Bruins in January and February, when the team comes to Newport to participate in autograph signings and show demonstrations to children.

Sponsors like Ocean Spray and Pepsi also bring sampling on weekends. “It’s great because a lot of business organizations are look for a way to get involved with the community,” Potter said.

The local environment, it seems, is the most important part of running the rink. “We don’t do this for a profit,” says Potter. “We just do this for the community.”

“I just think that it’s great for Newport, because there aren’t that many community things to do.we do a lot of activities and things, especially with the discounts we offer Sunday through Thursday.” The Newport Yachting Center has good name on the island. A lot of people come for reputation.

“We just have so many things to offer, there isn’t any reason why someone shouldn’t come down,” says the rink manager. “And you will never pay full price to come here, because there’s always a discount going on. It’s cheaper than going to the movies these days.”
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.

At early evening, everything is aglow with joy of the holidays. The giant star is brightly lit against a canopy of black sedate sky. The Zamboni is whirring across the ice, refreshing the rink with a new slickness. The air is much quieter.

The commotion of families and tourists has dwindled and the rink has drawn in an older crowd. Lights circle the trees that dot the outskirts of the property. The neighboring building of Newport Bay Club and Hotel has candles lit in each of its 50-some-odd windows.

Skaters wait impatiently for the employees to open the doors. Standing, watching with awe and warm winter drinks in hand. As the door is swung open, they spill out onto the ice taking faster revolutions. The ice quickly becomes scuffed and scraped, losing its gleam with the slice of the skates. Older girls spinning like natural figure skaters, and adolescent boys dart to and fro across the ice. There are lots of smiles, more couples. There is ominously less talking and voices and rather concentrated skating. Twinkles of the rainbow bulbs glint in the giant tree.

Tim Shea, an employee and jack-of-all-trades at the rink for two years, juggles the duty of Zamboni driver with the selling of tickets, the renting of skates, the making of hot dogs, and the sharpening of blades. But it’s still a slow night.

“Weekends are always busy, on the weekdays it’s a hit or miss,” Shea says. “It’s always a mix of everybody.”

A handsome older man walks in from the cold, bundled in a gray fleece, cheeks pink from the sting of the frosty evening. Potter follows closely behind, trailed by her 8- month-old Jack Russell terrier, Petey.

“You need skates?” Shea asks the man.

“Yes, a 12 please?”

“Try an 11, they run big.”

As Shea moves around, Petey scampers through the office, darting in and out of cubby holes, approaching people that walk in and out. Potter notices.

“Petey, are you helping them put the skates on?”

Soon, Potter leaves, and Shea gets a quick break. “It’s fun. There’s a good group of people that work here,” he says. “Everybody’s social.”

The whip of the line of royal blue flags against the wrought iron fence on America’s Cup Boulevard leads to the gate that closes in this wintry world. Outside, two younger couples approach the ticket window, quietly conversing in the chilly night, as the rink continues to be a place of community, harmony, and warmth during this frigid season.