Wichita Ice Center hasn’t had ice in over a month. Here’s what’s going on

One thing is missing from Wichita’s ice-skating rink: Ice.

A major equipment failure has left the Wichita Ice Center, the only ice skating rink in town, without ice for more than a month.

Officials say a temporary solution should bring ice back to the Wichita Ice Center, 505 W. Maple, by mid-September.

A permanent fix, though, is more elusive — as the city will likely have to foot a seven-figure bill to replace the chiller system at the center.

What happened?

On July 25, a pipe in the Ice Center’s ammonia-based chiller system burst.

A later inspection determined that the entire system would need to be replaced, according to a Facebook post from the center’s general manager, Rob Boyle.

Since then, the rink has been ice-less — leading to the cancellation of hockey leagues, figure-skating competitions, and public skate nights.

The Wichita Ice Center is owned by the city, but has been managed by Genesis Health Clubs since 2011.

Under the terms of the operating agreement between Genesis and the city, Genesis is responsible for routine maintenance of the systems, but when a major component breaks or otherwise needs to be replaced, it’s the city’s responsibility.

When will it be fixed?

Until a permanent solution is implemented at the Ice Center, the city will spend $386,500 for a three-month chiller system rental.

The temporary chiller will allow for one of the center’s two rinks — the NHL-sized rink — to reopen by Sept. 10, said Joe Pajor, the city’s Deputy Director of Public Works and Utilities.

If the Ice Center needs to extend the chiller rental, it can do so for an additional $41,900 per month, Pajor said.

And it’s likely it will need to do so, he said.

Replacing the chiller system presents significant logistical challenges — namely that there currently is no way to get the existing chiller out of the building.

“It’s like the classic story of the piano that somebody builds into their home, and then they want to move the piano,” Pajor said. “We’re going to have difficulty figuring out how to do a one-for-one replacement (for the chiller) because it’s too big … to get out of the building.”

In order to take the broken chiller out in one piece, the city would likely have to cut a hole in the side of the building, Pajor said.

Alternatively, the city is looking at installing a skid-mounted permanent chiller outside of the building and taking the broken one out in pieces, he said.

Either option will be costly.

“We’re still fleshing out the details of each approach to get a cost number for each one, so we don’t have a cost yet — but the million-dollar number is not an unreasonable number for the permanent solution,” Pajor said.

Any solution would have to be put out to bid and then, once a vendor was chosen, the system would have to be custom-built to suit the rink, he said.

“It’s probably about the first of the year, maybe into the first month of next year before a permanent solution is in place,” Pajor said.

How does an ice-skating rink work?

Ice-skating rinks like the ones at the Wichita Ice Center are achieved through a series of components.

Essentially, rinks are built with a layer of concrete — and multiple pipes run through that layer of concrete.

Cold brine water is run through those pipes, which chill the concrete enough that water can be poured on it in layers to create ice sheets.

That brine is chilled via an industrial chiller – some of which chill with Freon and others with ammonia (like the kind the Wichita Ice Center was using).

Specialized crews were at the Wichita Ice Center recently to flush out the brine pipes, according to a Facebook post from the center.

It’s unclear at this point if the pipes underneath the rinks or other components may have sustained damage as a result of the chiller malfunction.

“We still have to go through an evaluation of that,” Pajor said. “We’re still doing the forensics of the failure.”

In the meantime

Local amateur ice hockey players have nimbly adapted to playing roller hockey on the concrete floor until the ice returns, judging from posts on the Wichita Hockey Facebook group.

Some have been taking weekend road trips to Tulsa and other cities to play, according to the group.

Figure skaters, who typically train all year long, have also been traveling to Oklahoma City and Kansas City to practice, according to Boyle, the center’s general manager.

The center has technically been open the whole time, offering “off-ice classes like stick handling, conditioning, and jumps and spins for figure skaters,” Boyle said.

One silver lining, Boyle said: Summertime is usually the Ice Center’s “slow season.”

“We typically would start to get busy in the next few weeks, so getting one sheet of ice up and going is going to be a big plus for our community,” he said. “(People) have been very patient — frustrated, but supportive.

“We all know it’s a city-owned building, and they’ve really been on top of things here. It’s a real credit to them to get us back up and running.”

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Wichita Ice Center hasn’t had ice in over a month. Here’s what’s going on."