Ice skating picks up speed in L.A.

Newbies and speed-racers alike are taking to local seasonal ice rinks, like ICE in Santa Monica.

Edward Thomen works in a downtown L.A. law office, but on a recent lunch hour, he was more about the blades than the briefs.

He glided expertly around the ice rink at Pershing Square like a figure out of a Currier & Ives print—if Currier & Ives traded in their winter scarves for some palm trees and sunscreen.

These are glory days for the outdoor L.A. ice skater.

With a proliferation of seasonal outdoor rinks freezing up all over town, Angelenos are making a bid to knock their East Coast counterparts off their winter skating pedestal. Or at least make them envy our average December high of 68 degrees.

Thomen, out on the ice in his office wear of slacks and button-down shirt, said it’s a far cry from the indoor rinks where he skated when he first started playing ice hockey with Southern California friends 24 years ago.

“We never skated outdoors,” said Thomen, 53, who tried the city-sponsored “Downtown on Ice” at Pershing Square for the first time last year. “It’s great—you’re not under fluorescent lights and it’s not freezing cold.”

So how did a town better known for rollerblades than ice skates get all warm and fuzzy about winter rinks? As always, look for the showbiz angle.

Olympic skater-turned-event-producer Willy Bietak said the technology used in the Ice Capades made it possible to bring outdoor ice rinks to warmer climes.

Specialized cold-and-heat-conducting aluminum panels were developed so the show could set up and tear down in short order as it moved between cities, he said. In 1995, that technology was adapted for an outdoor public rink in San Francisco. The rest, he said, is ice skating history. “There are rinks everywhere now,” Bietak said.

As a result, even L.A. natives who’ve never seen snow before are giving ice skating a whirl, sometimes looking a bit like wobbly newborn deer testing out new legs.

“I think it is a novelty,” said Terri Berman, a spokeswoman for L.A. Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. Live. “We have seen more and more people who have never skated before, and they bring the whole family—parents, kids, even grandparents.”

She said attendance so far this season is up 17% compared to last year.

Cost varies from rink to rink. The city-run “Downtown on Ice” in Pershing Square is a relative bargain, charging $6 plus $2 for rentals, and showing a Metro pass saves an additional dollar. The venue also provides added entertainment including lunchtime and evening concerts and a free Winter Holiday Festival on Saturday, December 10, featuring Santa, children’s crafts, puppet shows and a snow play area.

Options for outdoor skating beyond downtown include ICE in Santa Monica and Woodland Hills Ice. Don’t forget the sunscreen.

Posted 12/7/11