Mount Greenwood Park Fieldhouse — Announced Learn-To-Skate Registration Venue
The outdoor ice rink at Mount Greenwood Park has a new chiller as the Chicago Park District gears up to open the facility for the season, easing fears in a neighborhood that was recently bracing for the rink to go dark for good. The equipment arrived just weeks after rumors of a possible closure sent local hockey families into a panic.
The rink, located at Mount Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St., was built in 1997 and is scheduled to open Nov. 27 alongside the Chicago Park District’s four other outdoor rinks, according to Block Club Chicago. The Park District has said no repairs are planned for the nearly 30-year-old rink, and a spokesperson confirmed the agency is installing the newly delivered chiller ahead of the season.
A Rumor That Sparked Neighborhood Uproar
The scramble to reassure residents began after Bob Lesch, administrator and coach of Chicago Mount Greenwood Hockey and a retired firefighter, raised the alarm after a Park District contractor told him the rink would not open this year. Lesch announced the rink’s possible closure, which caused an uproar in the neighborhood, and he said at the time that he doubted the rink would remain open for the season…