The Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena closed a month earlier than usual to accommodate a major construction project next door, at the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard’s main facility.
The arena, owned and operated by the YMCA, typically shuts down from mid-April through July for off-season routine maintenance and ice resurfacing. This year, operations ended Friday night, March 13, after the evening’s skating sessions concluded. The ice-melting process began immediately.
Health and wellness center equipment from the YMCA, including treadmills, weights, and other gym equipment, will be relocated to the ice rink throughout the final days of March, with the move expected to be completed by April 1.
The temporary relocation of YMCA equipment and the early closure of the rink is part of an effort to minimize the overall disruption of services during the YMCA’s ongoing expansion project, which broke ground in October. The ice arena will serve as the interim home for the health and wellness center through June 1. All exercise classes will also move to the rink.
“The idea was to try to keep as much of the operation going on as possible during construction,” said Jill Robie, executive director of the YMCA. “We really felt like the timing, while we know it’s not perfect for everybody, it was the best for trying to get this construction window for the Y to be as abbreviated as possible, because we have a large operation going, and we want to minimize the disruption.”
Youth hockey and high school hockey program seasons were successfully ended a couple of weeks earlier this season, limiting the primary impacts on ice hockey services to free-skate sessions, some men’s-league games, and stick-and-puck sessions.
The summer schedule at the ice arena remains unaffected, said Robie, with camps, clinics, and other programs set to resume as planned on July 13.
She added that all aspects of the YMCA will be facing some disruptions throughout the construction, but they are doing all they can to minimize it.
The YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard posted a detailed schedule of operations during the months of construction, from April to June 1.
