March 17, 2011 10.10 am This story is over 155 months old

Lincoln Ice Rink gets the boot

Goodbye: As funds dry up, there won’t be another Ice Rink in the City Square this year anymore.

There won’t be another Ice Rink in the City Square anymore, as Lincoln BIG decided to scrap the popular attraction due to a lack of funding.

Over the past five years the rink attracted around 20,000 people each year to try their talent at skating, or keep their children busy while they shop around.

But Lincoln BIG said it has insufficient funds to put together the Ice Rink this year, as grant money from the European Union used to subsidise the attraction have dried up.

The Lincoln Ice Rink cost around £100,000 per year to host, and needs an estimated £30,000 of subsidy just to be able to operate at £6.95 for adults and £4.95 for children.

But ticket sales and sponsorship only brought in around £70,000 per year, so the remainder of the money is contributed by Lincoln BIG from EU grant money, which is not available anymore.

“Without this income, the board of Lincoln BIG felt the cost of a rink this year would represent too great a proportion of the levy from city centre businesses on one activity,” Matt Corrigan, Lincoln BIG Chief Exec told the Lincolnshire Echo.

Due to these economic pressures, Lincoln BIG decided that it was not feasible to run the Ice Rink anymore at a loss.

The alternative would have been to pass on the further expenses onto skaters, with increased ticket prices of around £10.

Instead, some of the money used to hold the Ice Rink will be used for yet-to-be-decided activities in the city centre during the festive period.

Related Report: Lincolnshire Echo