Ice skating comes to Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES — On a recent Friday evening, children, families and young couples on dates glided happily in circles on a patch of carefully maintained ice flanked by Christmas-themed decor inside a livestock barn a few miles west of city limits.

Until last month, the closest ice skating for Las Crucens was in El Paso, Texas, or hours away in Cloudcroft. Ice Days, a private ice rink operator based in Georgia, debuted its rink at the Doña Ana County Fairgrounds on Nov. 28, following a “soft opening” celebration for county employees the day before Thanksgiving.

Through a contract between Ice Days and the county, the rink is open five days a week with admission rates of $11 for two hours, with adult- and kid-sized skates available and opportunities to book the space for parties.

A concession stand inside the barn offers hot dogs, pretzels, snacks and hot or cold beverages as well as warming socks or gloves on the cheap: Hot dogs cost $3 while a cup of hot chocolate goes for $2.

According to Ice Days’ website, the season is scheduled to run through Feb. 22.

“The county wanted to make it a more affordable experience for the community,” operator Jim Gomez, the owner of Ice Days, told the Journal in an interview sitting by the ice rink. “They’re not trying to make money. I really do think it’s going to benefit the community.”

In August, the county approved a competitive bid by Gomez in a crucial step toward realizing a goal County Manager Scott Andrews had set in his "state of the county" address in May.

At the Aug. 26 meeting of county commissioners, Andrews said bringing ice skating to the county had been part of “a conversation we’ve had since day one, making quality of life and economic development priorities for our community.”

He added, “There aren’t a lot of amenities and certainly not things to do around holidays.”

Gomez and Andrews have worked together before. In fact, Gomez said he taught Andrews how to skate. They first collaborated on bringing an ice rink to Sugar Hill, Georgia, when Andrews was the economic development director there. In 2020, when Andrews was the city manager for Covington, Georgia, the city entered into a contract with Ice Days to operate a seasonal ice rink there. 

“I’ve worked with Jim,” Andrews told the commissioners at the August meeting. “He’s fantastic to work with. And he cares.”

The county posted three requests for proposals in the spring and summer. Assistant County Manager Jonathan Macias told commissioners there were few bids, and only Gomez presented a bid for both the setup and management of the rink.

The county approved a contract for up to $290,000 — of which Macias said $225,000 had been approved as part of the county budget — renewable up to four years, with Gomez responsible for planning, operating and providing supplies and labor for a “turnkey” ice skating enterprise.

Gomez, a general contractor who has built and operated ice rinks for 12 years, is spending the season in Las Cruces to oversee the operation personally, and said he hopes to continue for multiple seasons, if commissioners continue approving the budget.

The relative warmth in the region does not present a problem for maintaining the ice, Gomez said, which is cooled through a large system located outside the barn through tubes beneath the rink. The barn was recently insulated and the space offers a level concrete floor. In fact, the said the dry climate made the environment ideal.

“Humidity, that’s the killer,” Gomez said. “On humid days, we’ll actually get moisture on the rink because it condenses the moisture out of the air. Everybody thinks the ice is melting, but it’s not.”

Overhead, Gomez had begun installing hardware for new lighting to bring disco-like displays to the rink with plans for DJ nights and other events past Christmas.

“I put a lot more into this than I normally would, knowing that we’re definitely coming back,” Gomez said, saying it takes two to three years for ice rinks that operate three months out of a year to become sustainable.

On local surveys produced by the county, residents ranked ice skating high on among their desired amenities, and Gomez said the response from those making the trip to the fairgrounds so far had been joyous.

“This year’s going to do well,” he said. “Next year is going to kill it.”

At the soft opening, County Commissioner Shannon Reynolds laced up ice skates for the first time in 40 years; and he took several laps without a stumble.

“We don’t know what dreams we’re going to build with this, for the kids,” Reynolds said, “or how many injuries for the adults.”