Details
The ice skating rink at McCormick Tribune Plaza is 200 by 80 feet (61 by 24 m). Due to the rink's rounded corners, the total skating surface is 15,910 square feet (1,478 m2), which critic Blair Kamin called "amply sized". For comparison, this is a considerably larger skating surface than the Rockefeller Center rink in New York City, which is 120 by 60 feet (37 by 18 m).
The Millennium Park rink has a lobby which provides skaters a respite from the natural environs, as well as toilets and public lockers. During the 2003–04 season the rink rented 77,667 pairs of ice skates. By 2009–2010, its ninth season, it was attracting more than 100,000 skaters a year. While availability of the rink depends on the weather, it also has a state-of-the-art chiller system that can maintain the ice in the event of unseasonably warm weather. Thus, temperature is not the only factor involved in decisions to close the rink. In his review of the plaza and rink, Kamin gave it two stars (out of a possible four), called the structure "solid, though unremarkable", and praised its uses throughout the year.
When the rink is closed, its surface becomes a 150-seat cafe that complements the 300-seat indoor Park Grill dining facility. Street level features such as McCormick Tribune Plaza are linked to elevated features such as Cloud Gate and AT&T Plaza, which are atop the Park Grill Restaurant and can be reached via balustraded stairs.
Read more about this topic: Mc Cormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
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