Valley Ranch to debut new ice skating rink in time for the holidays

November 30, 2018

Source: Houston Chronicle

The East Montgomery County Improvement District is hosting a holiday event to remember by initiating the first ever ice skating rink at the Valley Ranch Town Center.

The ice skating rink will be open from Dec. 29-Jan. 6 from noon-8 p.m and is located on the corner of Valley Ranch Parkway and Valley Ranch Boulevard at the intersection of Hwy. 59 and the Grand Parkway.

As opposed to the synthetic ice rink at the East Texas Fire & Ice Festival at the Valley Ranch Town Center in October, this would be the first time New Caney residents can experience gliding on actual ice.

This will be the first ice skating rink ever in East Montgomery County, according to Kelley Mattlage, chief communications officer.

“So much like how a refrigerator/freezer works, a chiller pumps glycol through tubes that lie underneath the rink mat. Water is poured onto the mat and freezes. The chiller will run 24 hours a day every day well before we open on Dec. 29,” Mattlage said. “Once the rink is in operation, periodically skate monitors will temporarily shut down the rink to refresh the surface with a squeegee. At some point when the ice gets low, employees will add more water to the surface overnight and allow for it to freeze.”

The rink is big enough to accommodate 100 people at a time. The rink will be set up under a tent with decking at the site of the future amphitheater at the Valley Ranch Town Center.

There will be free parking across the street from Texan Drive Stadium.

People can take a break from ice skating and enjoy some of the food trucks that will be near the rink, such as Tacos Flores, Roadside Sweets & Eats and Funnel Cakes-N-More.

Anyone who is interested in working at the ice skating rink can apply at the East Montgomery County Improvement District website. There will be mandatory training for all employees at Discovery Green in Houston Dec. 12-14.

A 90-minute skating session is available for $5 per person.

For more information call Sandy Seelye at 281-354-4419 or email sseelye@emctx.com.

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