14 Dec Superior Ice
“We never had bad ice in the past,” says Superior Ice Rink’s Ryan Hobby. “But with REALice it’s just so much better.”
Superior Ice Rink in King’s Park, NY is a year-round single pad that’s been operational since 1972. It’s a family-run rink, now on its third generation of management. Ryan Hobby, the rink’s arena manager, started skating there when he was five. The rink is SO busy, no one can remember the last time the ice was taken completely out.
“During COVID we came close — we took the ice down, but not all the way,” Hobby says.
The Long Island rink is on a sand base and they keep their ice around 1.5″ thick. When they first started using REALice at the end of October, they immediately noticed brighter lines and fewer blowouts, and the user groups have noticed the better quality too. As to their floodwater, it’s down to 80°F compared to the 150°F they used to use. And their Honeywell controls are now set to 22°F – up 2°F warmer from what they ran their ice at before.
“We haven’t gotten really cold yet, so we may still go up,” Hobby explains.
