The beloved Oval is a great place to lose yourself—and your hat. Something about the soothing rhythm of gliding around and around and around may lull people into a forgetful state of bliss, or maybe it’s the stress of changing in and out of gear with thousands of other skaters. Either way, people manage to […]
Common skating oval
Posted inNews + Opinion
The relative costs of maintaining the Common skating oval
Watching the public debate about whether the speed skating oval should be made permanent, I’m struck by how the costs of the continued operation of The Oval are blown all out of any reasonable proportion. Let me elaborate. First, let’s acknowledge that making The Oval permanent will entail one-time capital costs. It’s my desire that […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Beaver Tails sweet spot
Marianne Peryer has hit a jackpot, of sorts. Her understanding is that when the tender went out for a food and beverage stall at the new Skating Oval on the Halifax Common, her Beaver Tails franchise was the only application. “We had no idea what was going to happen here,” she says on a chilly Tuesday afternoon, watching hundreds of afternoon skaters glide by. “There are logistical issues… that may have played a part in people not applying.” Since the opening of the Oval on December 21, Peryer has seen her business bloom, to the point she’s had to bring
Posted inNews + Opinion
Keep the Common skating oval
Keep the oval. That message is coming through loud and clear from the 1,000-plus (some days over 2,000) people skating on the Common skating oval. The original plan was for the oval to be open to the public before and after the Canada Games in February, but then dismantled in March. There are six refrigeration […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Second update: Common skating oval to open Monday
[image-1] Update #2, December 17: The city has just announced that the grand opening ceremony for the oval will be held Monday, December 20, at 5pm, with the first public skate beginning at 6pm and continuing through to 9:30pm. Update December 14: Ice-making on the oval has been thrown off by the rain, wind and relatively warm weather we’re having, so tomorrow’s planned opening has been postponed until next week. Stay tuned here for updates, or get info straight from the city by calling 490-2347 or checking the skateHRM Twitter feed. Published December 9: The long-track speed skating oval on