As a result of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health’s Resolution No. 2020-143, several Cleveland area ice arenas have announced a “pause” in operations at their facilities with the possibility of reopening in mid-December.

     The resolution is “...to implement a Covid-19 stay-at-home health advisory effective November 18, 2020 through December 17, 2020.”

     As one can imagine, this pause will have an enormous effect on the youth, high school and even collegiate hockey seasons while, at the same time, trusting the pause will have a measurable effect on the number of  COVID-19 cases in their respective communities.

     Thornton Park Ice Arena will suspend operations effective November 23rd thru December 17 while C.E. Orr is “closed until further notice” according to the City of Euclid website.

     “The Governor’s Curfew Order caused us to review the rink schedule and consolidate the schedule to end at 9:45 pm. Then with the Cuyahoga County Stay at Home advisory and concern for growing COVID-19 spread during the holidays caused us to look at all recreation programs and services and ultimately for the health and wellness of the community, we decided to follow the Stay at Home Advisory. Additionally, the local school district’s adherence to the Stay at Home Advisory and their temporary suspension of athletics helped with the decision to reduce opportunities for community spread through sports and other recreation programs,” explained Alexandria Nichols, Director, Recreation Department for the City of Shaker Heights via email.

      In Lake County, the City of Mentor announced the closing of Mentor Ice Arena for the remainder of the calendar year, effective Monday November 23rd, while immediately suspending the youth hockey program.

     The announcement from Mentor stated, “a decision will be made at a later date on when these facilities will reopen.”

      Additionally, the two ice surfaces at Cleveland Heights Community Center have yet to open this season and the Kent State University Ice Arena has been shuttered since September.

       The ice at the Kent State facility was removed several weeks ago as well, signaling doubt that the facility will re-open this season.

       As the students at Kent State University returned home for Thanksgiving and are converting to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, and a recent announcement from the university confirmed the suspension of  spring semester club sports, it seems illogical to believe the ice arena would open for what would be a very limited period of time in the upcoming semester.

      To the credit of the leadership at ice arena facilities across the Cleveland market, they have been meeting monthly via Zoom calls to develop and share best practices for keeping their facilities safe and for potential resumption of activities.

      “Throughout the pandemic the City of Shaker Heights has spent time reviewing cases locally and collaborating with other recreation service providers on steps each agency is taking to reduce community spread of COVID-19. As a public entity, it is imperative that we set a good model for the community and stay abreast of trends in recreation operations. Throughout this current temporary suspension of programs and activities, we will communicate with local entities and regional recreation service providers to help decide if the temporary suspension will last beyond December 17. A concern is the December holidays and potential for continued rapid spread of COVID-19. It is the intent of the City to continue to help mitigate the spread of the virus and December 17 is the end of the Stay at Home Order for Cuyahoga County but the county going to purple risk level or continued large volumes of positive tests in the county will impact reopening,” added Nichols, who has played a leadership role in the monthly zoom meetings.

      The list of best practices and protocols for the rinks participating is updated as frequently as possible on the Cleveland Suburban Hockey League website.

       It is advisable to check the status of each rink prior to traveling to a facility.

       Stay tuned for any additional announcements regarding suspension of activities at local ice rink facilities.

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