CORNING, N.Y. -- It’s a staple in the community.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a baby,” said one Corning resident.
“It’s a local rink so you see a lot of your friends,” said another.
The Nasser Civic Center ice skating rink has been in Corning since 1974. The city says the rink is in desperate need of repairs.
“The upgrades have to be done and we have to find the money to do them,” said Chuck King, Corning Parks and Recreation Director.
However, the city doesn’t have the money to foot the bill.
“It’s a little over $800,000 to take both floors out, put in a new floor, put new piping in and a new mechanical room,” said King.
King has been looking for funding after losing a grant from the state.
“It’s just searching, continuous searching for new grant opportunities that the city can apply for," said King. "Any grant that fits an ice rink, or downtown development type grant, we can apply for.”
And if they don’t win a grant, the future of the rink is uncertain. King is hopeful it’ll at least make it through the season. He says it’s important for the community to have a space like this
“On a typical Friday night we have 300 plus middle school kids here waiting to get in," he said. "And all weekend long we’re packed. There’s 11 hockey teams that play out of here, there’s the figure skating club, so it’s very widely used.”
And despite the need for repairs, King says the skaters are completely safe to use the rink.