It is no longer worth it for the Paradise Recreation and Parks District to keep its seasonal ice rink open.
“Paradise on Ice” has been Paradise’s public ice skating rink since 2012. It is normally open from November through December and has run every winter season except for 2020.
But there will be no ice rink in Paradise this holiday season.
The Paradise Recreations and Parks District said earlier this year that the rink’s expenses have exceeded revenue and donations.
In a press release in January, the agency said, “Attendance records indicate this [2023] season had the lowest number of participants recorded.”
Participation has been slowly dwindling since the event's first year, according to a press release from the park’s district.
“Last year, Paradise Recreations and Parks District experimented by leasing a synthetic ice rink. This was an attempt to decrease expenses, as the synthetic rink was easier to assemble and cost less than half as much to operate. But some skaters didn’t like it,” the agency said in a press release, “The public shared negative feedback on the new surface.”
In 2021, the Chico City Council decided to open a new ice rink downtown. At the meeting, some citizens brought up concerns, wondering whether the establishment of an ice rink in Chico could draw business away from the already-existing ice rink in Paradise.
Now, the downtown Chico ice rink is the only rink open during the winter season in Butte County.
