The system that keeps the ice frozen for every hockey player, figure skater, and recreational skater at Centennial Ice Rink is getting replaced this summer.

The Wilmette Park Board unanimously approved a $1.3 million contract with ProTemp Mechanical of Westchester to install a new ground-level cooling tower at the Centennial Recreation Complex, 2300 Old Glenview Road. The bid came in $750,000 under the $2.05 million the district had budgeted for the project.

Josh Wallace, the park district's superintendent of parks and planning, told the board in a memo that the existing rooftop cooling tower has reached the end of its useful life. The district initially planned to replace it in the same rooftop location but determined that wasn't possible "due to insufficient clearance to meet current engineering standards and manufacturer spacing requirements."

The new unit will sit at ground level instead. A large concrete pad will be constructed next to the building as the foundation for the new tower.

Executive Director Chris Lindgren told the Park Board at the May 2026 meeting that construction will begin in July. "There's a ton of site work involved with setting a new pad and foundations and footings for the new unit," Lindgren said. "All that work will go through August and probably a little bit into September."

Park district officials estimate the entire project will take about five months, with completion expected by late September or early October. The scope includes an acoustical wall to comply with village noise ordinances and the relocation of a ComEd service line. The Village's Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously recommended the acoustical wall earlier in 2026, and the Village Board approved it on its consent agenda.

Once the new tower is running, crews will remove the old rooftop unit and restore Centennial's roof. Lindgren said he expects to bring bids for that roof work to the board by the end of 2026, with money already budgeted for 2027.

The cooling tower is the mechanical heart of the rink's ice-making system, removing heat from the refrigerant that keeps the surface frozen. Centennial hosts the Wilmette Jr. Trevians Hockey program, Learn-to-Skate classes, freestyle ice time, public skate sessions, and open hockey.

The district has not publicly addressed whether the construction will cause any temporary disruption to ice programming during the July through September window. Families with questions can contact Ice and Aquatics General Manager Mike Carosielli at [email protected] or 847-256-9685.