By Lookout Staff
January 27 -- More than 56,000 skaters -- nearly twice as many as last year -- took to the ice in Downtown Santa Monica this holiday season before the outdoor rink closed January 19, according to officials at the Bayside District Corporation, which runs the Downtown.
Helping to boost the numbers was a larger rink that handled as many as 425 skaters at a time and more days to skate than the previous year.
“I am thrilled with the turn-out and that we were able to provide that extra special holiday cheer for our visitors as well as draw more people to the area” said Debbie Lee, the Bayside’s marketing director.
“We are so fortunate to have such amazing support from the community and our team at Bayside is already looking forward to the next winter season,” Lee said.
On the final day, the Bayside also drew the names of the three winners of the HomeAid Los Angeles/ Ventura Project Playhouse custom-designed playhouses.
The playhouses were raffled to benefit HomeAid Los Angeles/Ventura, the leading national non-profit housing provider. Thousands of individuals participated in the raffle, Bayside officials said.
Starbucks Coffee, which sponsored the event, reported that more than 20,000 ice rink admission wristbands were brought back to the company’s local stores for a complimentary holiday beverage.
“Partnering with this anticipated annual event has made our team feel a part of the community fabric,” company officials said in a statement released Monday.
The complimentary beverages helped raise funds for RED, an organization co-founded by U2 frontman Bono and Council member Bobby Shriver that contributes to vital AIDS programs in Africa.
Construction of the rink for the second annual ICE at Santa Monica began in early October when crews laid down the frame filled with truckloads of sand..
Construction crews then laid hundreds of feet of coiled tubing and covered the entire surface in visqueen plastic sheeting.
The tubing was then hooked up to two giant refrigeration units – called chillers – which were concealed behind an immense blue screen behind the rink. This year the chillers were powered by green, renewable energy.
