Most ice programming at Wilmette's Centennial Recreation Complex shut down starting Monday, July 13, as crews began installing a new ground-level cooling tower.

The partial shutdown is Phase 1 of the Wilmette Park District's $1.13 million cooling tower replacement project and runs through Friday, July 17. Different programs are affected on different days:

  • Freestyle: Canceled Monday, July 13, through Friday, July 17
  • Learn to Skate practice: Canceled Monday, July 13, through Friday, July 17
  • Public skating sessions: Canceled Monday, July 13, through Thursday, July 16
  • Hockey: Canceled Tuesday, July 14, through Friday, July 17
  • Skating classes: Canceled Tuesday, July 14, through Friday, July 17

The cancellations land in the middle of the district's summer skating season, when youth hockey players and figure skaters are on the ice daily.

What's still running

The district's summer skating campus for grades 1-8 continues as scheduled, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at Centennial Ice Rink. That program includes both a Learn to Skate track and a hockey track. Tennis and pool operations at the complex are also unaffected.

What's behind the project

The cooling tower replacement involves moving the facility's aging rooftop unit to a new ground-level location adjacent to the building, according to The Record North Shore. The project also includes an acoustical wall to meet Village of Wilmette noise ordinance requirements. Once the new tower is operational and the old rooftop unit is removed, a separate roof restoration will follow.

The full project is scheduled to run approximately five months from its July start, but the district has not published a Phase 2 timeline or confirmed when all ice programming will resume beyond Friday, July 17.

Josh Wallace, the Wilmette Park District's superintendent of parks and planning, is the project contact. Families seeking updates can reach Wallace at 847-256-9639 or [email protected], or check the district's project page at wilmettepark.org/projects-planning/centennial-cooling-tower-project/.