In Georgia, ice is a friend and enemy. Icy roads effectively shut down Atlanta almost a year ago, stranding folks on the highway. This is a situation in which ice is the bad guy and innocent, unsuspecting southerners are the damsel in distress. However, Atlanta hasn’t abandoned ice and won’t as long as it’s lucrative.
In Centennial Olympic Park, an ice skating rink attracts thousands of Atlantans and people from elsewhere. An all-encompassing roof protects skaters from the elements; it can’t, however, protect them from gravity.
Morgan Smith Williams, public relations specialist at the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, says the rink is yet to witness a serious injury this year.
“There haven’t been any accidents or broken bones this year,” Williams said. “Sometimes people will be on their phones while ice skating — it isn’t the safest thing to do. There are four corners of the rink set aside for people using their phone so they aren’t a hazard to the main traffic.”
Williams describes the origin of the rink, recounting its genesis. The rink has roots older than many Georgia State Students. Students born in 1996 may not realize that that year brought the Summer Olympic Games to Atlanta, catalyzing the construction of Centennial Olympic Park.
“It has been a seasonal event since 1986,” Williams said. “The rink is now operated by a third party, which operated an ice skating rink at the World of Coca-Cola and, in 1998, began operating the rink in Centennial Olympic Park. It seems to be a popular attraction every winter.”
Despite the rink’s cinematic lighting and holiday-themed music, some are hesitant to throw themselves onto the ice. Williams notes that the rink is perfectly safe, despite the mandatory paperwork. She remembers her personal experience on the ice.
“It was really fun. It’s great for beginners — I like to call it a family-oriented rink. Most nights, kids and their families are the ones on the ice. However, there is a college discount on Mondays and Tuesdays. We see a lot of college students here on those nights—the rink has a little bit of a different feel.”
As Williams describes, the rink uses real ice. She notes that many hockey players favor the ice in the rink due to its thickness.
“At any one place in the rink, the ice is 1/16 of an inch thick. I talked to a former professional hockey player and he said this is the preferred size for many hockey players.”
The rink is sponsored in part by The Coca-Cola Company. Williams explains how contributions work. She also describes the relationship between the Georgia World Congress Center Authority and the State of Georgia.
“Coca-Cola is a sponsor of the rink, but there are other sponsors as well such as Stouffer’s,” Williams said. “They make a yearly contribution that is used to fund events organized by the park which is run by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The Authority also maintains and operates the Georgia Dome as well as the Georgia World Congress Center. It was created by the Georgia General Assembly to spearhead the creation and operation of these large ventures.”
Considering the popularity of the rink, it generates substantial revenue. Williams traces the flow of cash from the hands of ticket buyers to the park management.
“The revenue is used for operating the park,” Williams explains. “It is also used to fund general programming that the park does throughout the year, such as the music festival in the summer.”
In the midst of Centennial Olympic Park, the rink is lovely to behold. At night, the lights from the SkyView Ferris Wheel across the street can distract. However, from a distance, the ice skating rink and its surroundings don’t compete for attention. They stand in astonishing solidarity — a testament to the cultural and commercial mecca in which they were created.
In the scope of the rink’s surroundings, the individuals who skate on the rink seem miniscule — insignificant. Their identities blend together to create a blurry collective of sports enthusiasm, social media and consumer opportunity. In this group, skaters lose their respective identities in the collective identity of Atlanta. However, from the perspective of two twenty-somethings on their first date, they are surrounded by strangers and entangled in their own world of passion and curiosity.
These feelings are easy to ignore amidst international corporate landmarks. Even among people in groups, it’s natural to gather confusion from a third-person experience — confusion over what they’re saying, what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling.
An ice-skating rink in the park is a microcosm of its society. Where some see danger and consumerism, others see passion and curiosity. Regardless of occasional injury and financial implications, the rink brings together curious strangers. It harbors self-expression, transcendence and physical strength.
For those who come to witness these concepts first hand, hot drinks, snacks and funnel cakes are available for purchase. Georgia State students can get into the rink for 90 minutes for $9 if they show a student I.D. The rink closes for the year on Jan. 19.
