Skaters return to Toronto Harbourfront Centre as rink reopens

Nearly two years after costly repair bills forced it to close, one of Toronto's most scenic outdoor skating rinks has reopened to the public.

The Harbourfront Centre rink, located on the shore of Lake Ontario, is officially opening for the winter on Saturday night, with free hot chocolate and skate rentals. 

Admission is free through the winter and the centre will continue to offer free skate rentals on Saturday nights. 

The rink closed in early 2023 after the Harbourfront Centre board said it wouldn't provide the millions of dollars needed for repairs. The centre had planned to turn the rink into a plaza, but that never materialized.

Then, this year, the federal government announced that it would provide $10 million over two years to support the Harbourfront Centre. A few months later, City Hall moved quickly to offer more money to reopen the rink for the winter season.

In October, Deputy-Mayor Ausma Malik, who also represents Spadina-Fort York, successfully moved to use money the city collects from two nearby developments to install a new skating rink on the harbourfront. That amounted to a one-time payment of $425,000, according to the motion.

"I heard the outcry from the community about how important the skating rink is," Malik said in an interview Saturday. 

"It's a treasured place on our waterfront," she said, adding that she'd been skating on the rink all her life and was now passing that tradition on to her family.

The Harbourfront Centre will have to secure funding from donors and sponsors to keep the rink open for future seasons, Malik said.

Harbourfront Centre CEO Cathy Loblaw says the centre is optimistic it will be able to keep skating going now that the city has made it possible to purchase the new rink. She says it's an imortant part of making the centre a year-round attraction.

"It's the heartbeat of the waterfront," she said Saturday. "And [we] are excited to bring back something that is so cherished and so loved in the community."

The Waterfront Business Improvement Area is helping cover the cost of free skate rentals every Saturday night this winter.

BIA executive director Tim Kocur says having a third free, outdoor rink on the city's waterfront — after the Bentway and Sherbourne Common — helps out local businesses during the slow, winter season.

"Having skating rinks is the best possible thing, 'cause I think there's certain days when it's going to be very difficult to get people out … depending on the weather," Kocur said.