15,000 Ice Skaters at Canalside in One Month

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Officials at Buffalo Canalside District say they’re on track for a banner year despite the unseasonably warm weather.

The record breaking temperatures forced the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation to close their ice-skating rinks Wednesday.

ECHDC President Tom Dee tells us they’ve already seen 15,000 ice skaters over the last month. That’s 25 percent of the total amount of people that visited Canalside all of last year.

“It has not been that cold and people love to come out and use the ice,” Dee said. “So we’re losing a few days, but it’s not the end of the world. The fact that we have so many people come out shows that we’ve been successful and will continue that.”

Dee says many visitors still come down to watch the Grain elevator light show or sit in some of the original seats from the Sabres’ old Memorial Auditorium.