Vilnius Town Hall Ice Rink 2024/25

The 2024/25 Vilnius Town Hall project turned one of the city’s most visible public squares into a custom wave-shaped seasonal real-ice rink of approximately 900 m². The rink operated from 30 November 2024 to 26 January 2025 and combined flexible EPDM refrigeration technology with transparent boards, rental skates, automatic sharpening, resurfacing equipment, visitor accessories, technical support and staff preparation.

This makes the project a strong reference for clients who need more than an ice surface. It shows how a city-centre rink becomes a temporary public venue with engineering, logistics, visitor flow, operations and appearance all designed together.

Project at a glance

A city-centre rink starts with the site, not with the ice dimensions

Public squares create constraints that are different from purpose-built arenas. Before fixing the final 900 m² ice layout, a project of this type needs to understand the full site.

Key questions include:

• how level the supporting surface is;
• where electrical power is available;
• where the refrigeration plant can stand;
• how far hydraulic connections must travel;
• whether chiller noise affects surrounding buildings;
• where water and drainage are available;
• how trucks, cranes or forklifts can reach the site;
• how the public moves through the square during installation and operation;
• what emergency and service access must remain open;
• how the site is restored after dismantling.

Practical lesson: the available square area and the usable ice area are not the same thing. Technical equipment, visitor zones and circulation require additional space.

Custom wave geometry creates value — and extra interfaces

The rink was not a standard rectangle. Its wave-shaped layout made the attraction visually distinctive and better integrated with the public-space concept.

Non-standard geometry changes several technical decisions:

• EPDM mat arrangement;
• collector and hose routes;
• board segmentation;
• gate positions;
• resurfacer turning and maintenance routes;
• visitor entry and exit;
• visibility across the rink;
• how beginners and faster skaters mix;
• how the rink is decorated and photographed.

Custom geometry is most successful when the architect, rink technology and operating team work from one plan rather than when a visual shape is imposed after technical equipment has been selected.

900 m² is enough to require real capacity planning

For early-stage recreational-skating planning, ASHRAE gives approximately 2.3–2.8 m² of ice per person actually skating.

Applied only as a preliminary planning check, a 900 m² ice surface corresponds to roughly 320–390 active skaters at one time. This is not a legal occupancy limit and does not describe the actual operating capacity of the Vilnius project.

The real public capacity also depends on:

• session policy;
• rental-skate availability;
• beginner share;
• rink geometry;
• entry and exit width;
• staff supervision;
• emergency requirements;
• resurfacing closures;
• comfort level targeted by the organiser.

Source: ASHRAE Handbook — Refrigeration, Chapter 44: Ice Rinks.

210 rental skates are part of the operating system

The documented package included 210 pairs of rental skates. Skate-fleet planning should not simply match the theoretical number of people who could fit on the ice.

The required fleet depends on:

• how many visitors arrive without their own skates;
• peak simultaneous users;
• adult and children’s size distribution;
• turnover between sessions;
• reserve pairs;
• damaged or drying skates;
• sharpening workflow.

The project therefore also included automatic sharpening equipment. For a busy public rink, sharpening capacity directly affects how much of the skate fleet remains usable and how consistent the customer experience is.

Transparent boards support the city-centre visitor concept

Transparent safety boards fit a public-space attraction differently from professional hockey boards. They protect the skating area while keeping the rink visually open to the surrounding square.

For a similar project, board selection should consider:

• public-skating impact level;
• visibility from outside the rink;
• temporary anchoring and installation;
• gate locations;
• resurfacer access;
• queue and emergency circulation;
• branding;
• seasonal storage and transport.

The board system should therefore be selected as part of the public-space design rather than as a generic rink perimeter.

Refrigeration had to support an outdoor winter project, including warmer periods

Project documentation specified operation at ambient temperatures up to approximately +15°C. This is a project-specific documented condition, not a universal guarantee for all mobile rinks.

Outdoor refrigeration capacity is influenced by:

• air temperature;
• direct solar radiation;
• wind;
• rain;
• humidity;
• surrounding buildings and shading;
• ice temperature;
• visitor load;
• resurfacing frequency;
• operating hours.

A new rink planned for the same city and the same area could still require a different refrigeration configuration if its dates, shading, geometry or operating programme changed.

The base is part of ice quality

The project archive documents preparation of a level supporting base before the EPDM mat system was deployed.

This matters because flexible refrigeration mats follow the supporting surface. Poor base preparation can create:

• uneven water depth during ice build-up;
• variable ice thickness;
• local hydraulic or mat stress;
• poor board alignment;
• resurfacing difficulties;
• additional refrigeration load where the ice becomes unnecessarily thick.

For temporary urban sites, the base should therefore be surveyed and corrected before the opening programme becomes critical.

Installation sequence determines the real opening date

The project archive records the sequence from supporting base and EPDM deployment through refrigeration setup and final ice preparation.

A realistic seasonal-rink programme should allow time for:

1. site handover and level check;
2. temporary base preparation where required;
3. EPDM deployment;
4. collector and hydraulic connections;
5. chiller positioning and power connection;
6. pressure testing;
7. filling and venting;
8. board installation;
9. refrigeration commissioning;
10. controlled thin-layer ice build-up;
11. initial resurfacing;
12. staff training and final safety checks.

Practical lesson: equipment delivery date is not the public opening date. The project should be scheduled backwards from the required ice-ready date.

Resurfacing equipment belongs in the original layout

The package included a self-propelled ice resurfacing machine. On a custom-shaped seasonal rink, the resurfacer affects the design before the first ice is made.

It requires:

• a gate wide enough for the machine;
• safe access from storage to the rink;
• turning space;
• water filling;
• snow disposal;
• charging or fuel provision depending on machine type;
• a maintenance route that works with the wave-shaped geometry.

If the resurfacer is selected after the boards and public layout are fixed, the project can create avoidable access conflicts.

Rubber flooring, benches and skating aids complete the visitor journey

The documented project included rubber flooring, benches and children’s skating aids. These may look secondary compared with the chiller, but they directly influence how the attraction works.

A good visitor route is continuous:

arrival → skate issue → changing → protected walk to the ice → skating → rest → exit → skate return.

Rubber flooring protects both blades and surrounding surfaces, benches reduce congestion around skate-change zones and skating aids make the rink usable for less confident visitors.

Turnkey means clear responsibility, not “the client does nothing”

The documented scope included technical support, staff training, insurance and operating support. A turnkey seasonal package reduces the number of specialist interfaces the organiser must manage.

However, a successful project still needs the responsibility split defined clearly. Depending on contract scope, the organiser may remain responsible for:

• site access;
• electrical connection;
• water and drainage;
• local permits;
• public security;
• ticketing and visitor management;
• opening-hour staff;
• snow disposal;
• protection against third-party damage.

These interfaces should be agreed before mobilisation, not negotiated during installation.

What a client can learn from Vilnius Town Hall

1. Custom shape can strengthen the attraction. But geometry must be coordinated with EPDM, boards, resurfacing and circulation.
2. Plan the whole visitor operation. Skates, sharpening, rubber flooring and beginner aids are capacity-critical equipment.
3. Confirm the site infrastructure early. Power, chiller location, base and access can control the project more than ice area.
4. Schedule backwards from opening. Commissioning and ice build-up need real programme time.
5. Outdoor design conditions must be project-specific. The documented +15°C condition should not be copied blindly to another rink.
6. Turnkey works best with a clear responsibility matrix.

When a Vilnius Town Hall-type concept may fit

This approach is particularly relevant for:

• municipal Christmas and winter programmes;
• historic or highly visible city-centre squares;
• seasonal attractions where visual identity matters;
• projects needing a complete skate-rental and operating package;
• sites where the rink must disappear completely after the season;
• organisers that want one technical partner to coordinate refrigeration, boards, equipment, training and support.

SPORTWAVE perspective

Vilnius Town Hall demonstrates SPORTWAVE’s preferred approach to seasonal rental: the rink is designed as a complete temporary venue. Site, real-ice technology, refrigeration, custom geometry, boards, visitor equipment, resurfacing, staff preparation and technical support are coordinated together.

Explore Ice Rink Rental  |  Read the Seasonal Ice Rink Planning Guide  |  Request a seasonal rink proposal