July 31, 2017 4.32 pm This story is over 80 months old

2017 Lincoln Ice Rink cancelled by organisers

The team behind the annual Lincoln Ice Rink have scrapped the annual attraction due to high costs. The Lincoln Business Improvement Group (Lincoln BIG) behind the rink has said previous contractors were unable to offer the service for the 2017 season, adding costs quoted by other providers have been “prohibitive”. The ice rink has been a…
The Lincoln Ice Rink was cancelled for 2017 and hasn't returned since.

The team behind the annual Lincoln Ice Rink have scrapped the annual attraction due to high costs.

The Lincoln Business Improvement Group (Lincoln BIG) behind the rink has said previous contractors were unable to offer the service for the 2017 season, adding costs quoted by other providers have been “prohibitive”.

The ice rink has been a popular family Christmas feature on City Square since 2005 seven days a week.

Lincoln BIG Chief Executive Matt Corrigan said: “For some weeks we have been exploring the possibility of bringing an ice rink to the city centre again this year, but this is now unlikely.

“We know that the non-appearance of the ice rink this year will be a big disappointment to many families living in the city and wider county, but our decision is based on a number of challenging factors.

“Firstly, the contractor who provided the rink for us last year is no longer able to offer us this service. We have already looked at alternative potential suppliers and we will continue to do so but, so far the costs quoted have been prohibitive.

“Every year the ice rink has grown in popularity and attracted more skaters but, despite this, we have always had to subsidise its cost.

“If we had a rink this year, the level of subsidy would have to increase significantly and we simply cannot sustain that.”

The attraction was met with difficulties last year when a technical fault caused the rink to melt.