by Christina Grierson

The Wissahickon Skating Club has been a staple in the Chestnut Hill area for more than 60 years. Within that time span, little to no renovations have been made to the infrastructure of the club’s building, located on the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy campus, down the road from the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

To ensure that the club is able to host more skaters for generations to come, Kevin Hamel, the Wissahickon Skating Club President, is in the process of spreading awareness and raising money to fund the much-needed improvements for the rink.

“We’re looking at decades of successful operation beyond what engineers would have predicted as the maximum life of the facility,” Hamel said.

The rink dubbed as the “Great Old Barn” by Hamel due to its age and historical significance to the community, is reaching a point where if not repaired soon, it could result in a failure that would threaten the club’s existence.

Though the actual ice rink has remained the same since the 1950s, there have been renovations made to the building in the past, including an added member lounge, cathedral-style windows and a barrel-roofed structure.

Hamel credits the club’s maintenance crew for keeping the rink in good shape despite its dire need of repair.

Some of the risks of not renovating the building include a major coolant leak under the ice, a failed refrigeration system and possible compressor failure. Since the repair parts needed for the rink’s current compressors are so out of date, they have to be custom machined as the parts are no longer available.

“As you can imagine, given the age of the facility, we're seeing increasing maintenance costs,” Hamel said.

One of the greater risks is the potential corrosion of the iron tubes beneath the ice. Under the ice, the tubes carry a chilled saline solution through a sand bed. Those tubes have not been replaced since the building’s original construction. Since the frozen sand keeps the pipes from rupturing, the ice cannot be thawed for maintenance and repairs.

“This situation is not viable in the long term,” Hamel said.

Throughout its history, the club has been very community oriented, Hamels said.

That community focus is one of the reasons it has been able to maintain success through the last 60 plus years while being one of very few skating clubs in the United States to own their own facilities. Many of the club’s volunteers have skated there at some point and even have children who take part in the many programs held at the rink.

The club’s significance to the community makes the renovations that much more urgent. Essentially, the club’s members don’t want to change the Wissahickon Skating Club, they wish to preserve it so that others may enjoy the rink as they and past skaters were able to.

Hamel hopes to start the renovations soon. He is working to begin by the end of the 2018-19 Club Season, to eliminate the possibility of having to reconstruct the beloved building from scratch. To do that, the club is actively trying to raise a total of $3.5 million to cover the costs.

This money will replace the ice surface, build new locker rooms and restrooms, it will revamp the old bleachers and player boxes, add a new elevator and staircase, improve circulation around the rink and a number of other changes that will make the skaters’ overall experience more enjoyable.

Hamel discussed the different “tiers” of renovations with the mechanical restorations being of first priority in terms of how the money will be spent and other recreational changes like the office space, café and the new entrance to follow.

“Ultimately we came up with a plan that was approved by the board and we went into what I think fundraisers would call a ‘quiet phase of fundraising’ and raised a little over a million dollars in contributions and pledges,” Hamel said.

The club is relying on donations from current members, past members and the community. With the upcoming season concluding in March of next year, Hamel hopes to have all of the renovations completed by August 2019. In the midst of all of the planned changes, it is a priority of Hamel’s to maintain the character of the facility.

Christina Grierson is an intern at the Local.