man using water hose to make ice for outdoor ice rink at Winter Village in Tampa.

How’d They Do That? A real ice rink in downtown Tampa at Winter Village

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A real ice skating rink…outside…in the middle of downtown Tampa, Florida, where temps can easily peak in the mid-80s on any given afternoon in December? Yup! It's totally possible, and it's been happening every winter for the last ten years at Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

So we wanted to know….how'd they do that?? We recently caught up with Chad Kolar, one of the pros with Ice Rink Events, who builds the outdoor ice rink each year.

We watched as he and his team worked to create the ice for this year's ice rink. And turns out it's as simple as some really cool technology (literally) and a water hose! Who knew??

So, other than the water from the hose, how do you make ice outdoors in Florida?

Kolar: “We have coils, they're called ice mats, and antifreeze glycol, that's propylene and safe for water and pets, and all that kind of stuff, travels through the tubing through a chiller and chills down to about zero degrees, and we put thin layers of water on it to build up to about three and a half inches of ice.”

Working in Florida must present an extra challenge when it comes to building an outdoor ice rink.

Kolar: It's definitely harder to build ice in Florida than in other places. So we tend to do that overnight from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day. And keep maintaining the ice to have a great surface for people to come out and enjoy.

It's not just warm, but also humid. How do you keep the ice safe for people to enjoy?

Kolar: Water levels itself, so if there is any meltage during a hot day with the humidity, it just freezes right back at night. But we got the system down here to where the antifreeze is traveling through at zero degrees, so it's a pretty good, consistent surface for everybody to enjoy.

How long does it take for your team to build the ice up to 3 1/2 inches?

Kolar: There's probably about 55 hours worth of ice making here to get to three and a half inches of ice. So definitely a lot of water and a lot of layers of build-up and a lot of time spent, but it's all worth it when it's all done, getting to see everybody come out and enjoy it, so that's the main thing.

Here are a few cool facts about the ice rink at Winter Village in Tampa you can share with the kids when you go:

  • They use a “starter ice” which is ice shavings from the ice rink at the Benchmark International Arena, where the Tampa Bay Lightning Play.
  • It takes 55 man-hours and 7 days to make the 3 1/2 inches of ice that you ice skate on at Winter Village.
  • They spray water from hoses to create multiple thin coats of ice to build up to that 3 1/2 inches.
  • It's the same process they use to make the ice indoors at facilities like Benchmark International Arena.
Starter ice from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa to create the ice at Winter Village in downtown Tampa.
Starter ice from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa to create the ice at Winter Village in downtown Tampa. Still of video from Tampa Downtown Partnership.

Winter Village opens on Friday, November 21, 2025, and will be open throughout the season during select hours through January 4, 2026.

The Ice Rink Events team will be back in action when they build the outdoor rink at Raymond James Stadium for the NHL's Stadium Series on February 1, 2026!

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