Robert Crown rink back in operation after weeks offline; second sheet likely this Saturday

Parks and Recreation Director Audrey Thompson told the Evanston City Council on March 31 that the Robert Crown ice facilities have returned to service after several weeks of outages, with the second sheet expected to be operational on the coming Saturday.

Thompson said staff worked around the clock to rebuild the ice. “If you don't know what it takes to get a sheet of ice back up and running, it is a week long process,” she said, describing repeated sprays of water and hand‑painting the surface and logos. Thompson said staff logged multiple long shifts to restore the rink; on Sunday the city's public‑skate session drew 102 people despite short notice.

Council member Burns asked whether seasonal partners and tournament hosts would return after the outage. Thompson replied, “Absolutely,” and said she had not heard of vendors or groups declining to return.

Why it matters: Robert Crown hosts local hockey, figure skating and public‑skate programs and its temporary closure disrupted programming and community use; staff said full operations will resume once the second sheet comes online.

Details

- Director Thompson said bringing a sheet online is a multi‑day, hands‑on process that includes repeated sprays of water to build the surface and manual painting of logos.

- Staff reported 102 attendees at a Sunday public skate the weekend after reopening and said the second sheet is expected to be operational on Saturday, contingent on final preparations.

- City Manager Stowell and Thompson thanked facilities, fleet and ice‑operations staff for extended shifts to restore ice service.

Ending

Thompson told the council staff would keep members informed and thanked elected officials for support while crews worked to restore full operations.