The biggest change at Veterans Memorial Skating Rink is a room most skaters never see. Behind the boards at 56 Buena Vista Road, crews tore out every piece of refrigeration equipment, cut up and removed the concrete floor, pulled the piping, regraded the ground, and poured a new slab over new pipe. Facility Supervisor Peter Montesano told We-Ha that "everything we have is brand new."
The doors reopened on Oct. 19, 2026. Coming back in mid-October meant the rink returned straight into its busiest months. Hockey, school teams and lessons claim the prime hours, and in a typical week most public skating happens on weekdays, much of it around lunchtime.
A summer project that ran into the season
The town planned this work around the calendar. West Hartford's adopted FY27 capital budget set aside $4 million, all of it from bonds, to replace a refrigeration system installed in 2001. That system had reached the manufacturer's 25-year life expectancy. The budget called for a four-month project, ideally April 1 to Aug. 1, 2026, "to avoid peak operations."
The rink closed March 30, and We-Ha reported an Aug. 1 target for reopening. The same report described the rink as nearly 60 years old, with its last major renovation nearly 25 years earlier. The actual reopening came six and a half months after closing. Staff told We-Ha the job lost about four weeks while crews waited for ground frost to clear, and one staffer said they spent those weeks looking at dirt.
That delay explains the current schedule. Every group that left in March came back in the same week, during the stretch the town charges the most for ice. The Town's rental page lists private ice at $410 per hour from Sept. 1 through March 31 and $300 per hour from April through August. Those were the months the original plan meant to use up.
Everyone came home at once
While the rink was closed, regular users skated elsewhere. Rink staff told We-Ha that hockey players went to Newington, Simsbury, probably Bolton and other rinks, and figure skaters went to Cromwell and Newington. Those groups are back now. The Town lists West Hartford Youth Hockey Association, Light the Lamp Hockey, and the Conard and Hall boys' and girls' teams as rink users, and the live schedule also shows ice time for Danbury Speed Skating Club.
Pent-up demand covers more than hockey. On opening day, staff told We-Ha that several birthday parties were already booked, DJ Skate was expected to be busy, and Learn to Skate, which started that Wednesday, was already booked.
The skaters coming back have a long history with the building. A We-Ha report from March 2026 traced a hockey tradition at the rink back to 1968.
Where public skating actually falls
This is the Town's posted schedule for the week of Oct. 25–31, 2026, the first full week after reopening. Sessions can shift from week to week, so treat it as a typical week, not a fixed timetable.
| Day | Public skate | Adult-only skate, 18+ |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 3:00–4:00 p.m., 4:10–5:10 p.m. | None |
| Monday | 12:40–1:40 p.m. | 9:15–10:15 a.m., 10:15–11:15 a.m. |
| Tuesday | None | None |
| Wednesday | 4:30–5:30 p.m. | 9:15–10:15 a.m., 10:15–11:15 a.m. |
| Thursday | 12:40–1:40 p.m. | 10:15–11:15 a.m. |
| Friday | 12:40–1:40 p.m., 4:45–5:45 p.m. | 9:15–10:15 a.m., 10:15–11:15 a.m. |
| Saturday | 7:00–8:00 p.m. | None |
Added up, that week had eight hours of all-ages public skating, and five of them fell on weekdays. Three started at 12:40 p.m. and two started after school, on Wednesday and Friday. The weekend had three: two back-to-back hours on Sunday afternoon and one Saturday evening hour. Adults with flexible mornings had the most room, with seven hours of adult-only ice across four weekdays.
DJ Skate is separate from those sessions. The Town says the Friday night DJ Skate runs all year and the Saturday night one runs September through May. Admission is $12 and skate aids aren't allowed. That week's calendar had DJ Skate Friday, Oct. 30, 7:15–8:30 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 31, 8:15–9:30 p.m.
For a family planning a weekend skate, that means Sunday afternoon or a Friday or Saturday DJ night. For a parent with a preschooler, or anyone working from home, the 12:40 p.m. weekday sessions add up to as much ice as the whole weekend.
What a visit costs
These are the Town's listed public skate rates:
- Resident adult: $8
- Nonresident adult: $10
- Resident child: $7
- Nonresident child: $9
- Senior, 65 and older: $7
- Children 2 and under: free
Skate rental is $5 a pair, or $50 for a card good for 10 rentals. The fee page doesn't list an admission punch card or a priced season pass, so the rental card is the only multi-visit discount listed. For a resident adult skating 10 times in their own skates, admission adds up to $80. Renting every time adds $50 with the card.
Lessons and parties are filling first
Learn to Skate shows the crunch most clearly. Session 2 youth classes run Wednesdays from Oct. 21 to Dec. 16, Fridays from Oct. 23 to Dec. 18, and Saturdays from Oct. 24 to Dec. 12. The listed fee for a Wednesday youth class is $216 for residents and $225 for nonresidents, and the Town says skate rental is included. The Town's RecDesk catalog already showed several Session 2 classes as full, including a Friday LTS 1 class and Friday LTS 2 and LTS 3 classes.
Adults have their own track. Session 2 adult classes meet Tuesdays from Oct. 20 to Dec. 15, Thursdays from Oct. 22 to Dec. 17, and Saturdays from Oct. 24 to Dec. 12, at $200 for residents and $208 for nonresidents. Lessons follow the West Hartford Public Schools vacation calendar, so there are no classes on scheduled school closings except spring vacation. The adult Saturday listing notes no class on Nov. 28 or Dec. 19. The adult Thursday listing marks "NO CLASS ON 11/26" but still includes that date in its schedule table, so check that one with the rink before Thanksgiving week.
Birthday parties have two tiers. A party during a public session costs $300 for up to 20 guests, plus a $75 security deposit and $15 for each extra skater. A DJ Skate party costs $400 for up to 20, plus a $100 deposit and $20 per extra skater. Both include admission, rental skates, and the party or multipurpose room for 45 minutes before and after the skate. Bookings are taken by email, not online. Parties are tied to public sessions, and those sessions are few on weekends, so the good party slots are limited too.
For the holidays, the Town's RecDesk lists a Buena Vista December vacation camp for Dec. 28–30, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It costs $240 for residents and $270 for nonresidents. It's a camp, not a public skate session.
Why the wait was worth it
The new equipment is built to last. The capital plan describes the replacement as a more energy-efficient glycol system with a lower ammonia charge that is safer to operate and cheaper over time than keeping an aging system running. The budgeted scope also included a new electric Zamboni to replace the 2017 machine, which had no backup.
Montesano told We-Ha the compressors and motors were built in the Netherlands, that he expects the town's electricity use to go down, and that the renovations "should last about 30 years." Recreation Specialist Ean Gorlick said the first things visitors will likely notice are the ice and the new ice logos, followed by new flooring in the locker rooms, around the perimeter, and through the public areas.
Holiday-week public hours weren't posted when this went up. The live schedule is on the Town's facility schedule page, and the rink office is at 860-561-8290.
If you're already weighing how close you want to live to Buena Vista Road, or to a rink at all, Peter Vamvilis can help you compare West Hartford streets by the drives you'll actually make, from early hockey practice to Sunday afternoon skating. Start Your Home Search, and call with your questions anytime.
