JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Downtown Jacksonville may be celebrating the upcoming holiday season in a new way, as a local non-profit is trying to bring an outdoor ice rink to the Riverfront.
In April, Downtown Vision Inc. brought the Jax River Jams concert series to Riverfront Plaza, which is the name of the site where the Jacksonville Landing used to be.
“I think we've just scratched the surface in how cool that venue on the river can be," Downtown Vision Inc. CEO Jake Gordon said.
Gordon is now hoping that a temporary 40-foot-by-100-foot outdoor ice rink will be the next Riverfront Plaza attraction.
There are still a lot of logistics to work out, but if all goes to plan it would be open to the public from Nov. 27 through Jan. 8. The plaza would also be decked out in holiday season décor.
“We want to give people a reason to come downtown," Gordon explained. "So, for someone like me with small kids that want to go ice skating, it's kind of a reason to come downtown. And oh, then you get a hot chocolate, you get some food from the food trucks or from the restaurants.“
The project by Ice Rink Events will cost about $800,000, he said.
The Downtown Investment Authority recently pledged to pitch in $100,000. The other costs would need to be covered through sponsorships and admission charges.
An initial cost estimate for skaters is $18 for 90 minutes. Plus, there will be a skate rental station.
Gordon estimates the ice rink will bring in about $300,000, which means a little more than half will have to be raised with support from private and public partnerships.
“We still have a lot of work to do to make sure it can all come together and can happen this winter," he said.
If we don’t see ice in Downtown Jacksonville this November, Gordon says he’s determined to get people in skates by the 2022 holiday season.