Ice Zone Olympic ice rink to re-open Aug. 21

August 13, 2013 at 10:30a.m.

The Ice Zone, which closed in May after years of economic challenges and dwindling revenue, will reopen under a new business model Aug. 21, owner Bruce J. Zoldan announced today.

The rink boasts two sheets of ice. One a larger Olympic sheet and a smaller regulation-sized sheet. For now, operations on the smaller sheet will remain suspended.

Public skates, pick-up hockey and freestyle figure skating will resume under the new model. Individuals, groups and youth sports clubs and organizations will also be able to rent the facility’s larger Olympic ice sheet on an hourly basis.

Zoldan, also the president and chief executive of Phantom Fireworks and owner of the Youngstown Phantoms, said closing the rink was “one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever been forced to make.”

The rink first opened in 1997 and helped give rise to youth hockey in the Mahoning Valley.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator or vindy.com