Miner, state lawmakers announce funding to repair Meachem Ice Rink

SYRACUSE — The city of Syracuse is getting financial assistance to pay for repairs to Meachem Ice Rink, which closed earlier this year to due to malfunctions in the ice-cooling system.

The city will use $460,000 in state funding to replace the existing ice rink with an ice mat, the office of Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said in a news release.

Miner, New York State Senator David Valesky (D–Oneida), and New York State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) made the announcement this morning at the Meachem rink.

Valesky helped secure $350,000 in state funding, while Magnarelli obtained an additional $110,000, according to Miner’s office.

“This money will enable us to bring this rink back into operation for the use of another generation of Syracuse residents,” Mayor Miner said in the news release.

The ice rink is located at 121 West Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse.

The city will use the funding to purchase an ice mat, which will form a rink when laid on a concrete floor. The refrigerant extends through the mat and chills when crews place water on top of the sheet, Miner’s office said. 

The funding will also cover the cost of buying compressors, which feed refrigerant through the mat, along with dehumidifiers for the rink.

The city expects the rink to reopen in time for the beginning of the next hockey season in October.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com