Centennial's Ice Season Is On. The Rink's Next Chapter Is Going Up in the Parking Lot.

Winter at Centennial Ice Rinks, 2300 Old Glenview Road, is running on its usual calendar. Public skate runs on weekday lunch hours and weekend afternoons. Friday Stick & Puck is on, the Holiday Exhibition is set for mid-December, and Skate with Santa is on Christmas Eve morning. The bigger change is in the southwest parking lot. The Wilmette Park District's new cooling tower has moved from the roof to ground level there, because the roof that held the old one turned out to be the problem. Work around it, including the sound wall and its artwork, continues through spring and early summer.

The District describes the project as work that keeps both rinks running and prepares the building "for future structural and roof improvements." A separate Park District study is now looking at what Centennial should become over the long term. The structure in the parking lot is the first physical step in that conversation.

Why the Tower Came Off the Roof

The cooling tower is part of the refrigeration system that keeps ice on both sheets at Centennial. Per the Jr. Trevians hockey club, which plays there, that means one full sheet and one studio sheet. The old unit sat on the roof for about 13 years. In 2023 the District commissioned a structural survey of the arena roof and metal decking. It found significant deterioration of roof components and structural elements around the tower.

The old setup also had a design flaw. According to North Shore Weekly, the tower rose only a few feet above a five-foot parapet wall. That restricted airflow, lowered efficiency over time and wore the system out early. The District first planned to put the new tower back on the roof. Josh Wallace, the District's superintendent of parks and planning, wrote in a memo to the Park Board that the roof didn't have enough clearance to meet current engineering standards.

Moving the tower to ground level created a second requirement. A tower in a parking lot needs a sound barrier wall to comply with village noise ordinances, so the project now includes a wall around the equipment.

The cost came in below what the District had set aside. The Record North Shore reported in June that the Park Board unanimously approved a $1.3 million installation contract with ProTemp Mechanical of Westchester, against a budget of $2.05 million. A $250,000 Build Illinois Bond Fund grant, sponsored through legislation from Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, covers part of the bill. North Shore Weekly quoted Commissioner Mike Murdock at a May meeting saying, "it was a lot of money, and it's still a lot of money, but it's a lot less than it could have been."

Skaters have already lived through one stage of the project. During the week of July 13, ComEd moved the building to a new transformer. The rinks ran on emergency power with a temporary generator going around the clock, and public sessions, hockey and classes were paused for those few days.

A Wall That Borrows From the Prairie Next Door

Since the wall can't be avoided, the District let residents choose how it looks. Six designs went to a public vote that closed October 15. Design Option D won with 207 votes. It has a navy background with a yellow prairie scene. North Shore Weekly described it as gold line-art butterflies and prairie wildflowers. The artwork will cover the south, east and west sides of the barrier, which are the three sides visible from the lot.

The design is based on a real place. Centennial Prairie Garden sits in the detention area at the north end of Centennial Park. The one-acre basin was seeded with wetland prairie in November 2010, and a 15-foot upland prairie border was planted in June 2011. The District says the garden draws birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The butterflies on the new wall come from the plantings just north of it.

The look is settled, but the method isn't. The District says it will choose among a vinyl wrap or decal, a painted mural or another method, based on budget, materials and how well each holds up over time. It earlier said the decoration would go on in the spring, and it expects the overall project to continue through spring and early summer. Anyone parking in the southwest lot this winter will see construction before they see any prairie.

The Winter Calendar Around the Work

Inside the building, the 2026–27 public skate schedule runs from August 17 through June 5, 2027. Public skate is Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 1:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday Hockey Stick & Puck runs noon to 1:30 p.m. on the Main Rink and Studio.

Late November through New Year's Day brings most of the season's exceptions:

Skaters who want to perform in the Holiday Exhibition should know the Ice Programs listing charges $20 for a solo and $10 for a duet or trio. Skate with Santa costs $5 with a non-perishable donation for the Wilmette Food Pantry. Children five and under skate free. Standard fees of $8 for students, $9 for adults and $4 for young children are also listed.

On regular days, a single public session costs $9 for adults 18 and over, $8 for ages 6 to 17 and $4 for children five and under, with the same price for residents and nonresidents. Skate rental is $5. For regulars, an annual individual pass costs $100 for residents or $133 for nonresidents. A family-of-four pass costs $182 for residents or $264 for nonresidents.

Families planning lessons have another set of dates. The Late Fall session for the beginner class Snowplow Sam 1 runs through December 14. Winter programs post November 24, with resident registration opening December 8 and nonresident registration December 15.

The Bigger Question Is Already Underway

The cooling tower solves an urgent problem and prepares the building for roof work. A separate effort is looking at Centennial as a whole. The Park District's Comprehensive Recreation Feasibility Study is evaluating the Community Recreation Center, Centennial Recreation Complex and Big Tree Lane together. Wight & Company, chosen from nine architecture and planning firms, began the work in July 2026.

The study grew out of the District's 2023 and 2024 Comprehensive and Strategic Plan work. That process named the Community Recreation Center and Centennial as priorities for closer review, along with aging facilities and accessibility. The options on the table run from keeping facilities as they are to renovation, expansion, reconstruction or new amenities, each with a financial analysis. The District says no decisions have been made and there are no predetermined outcomes.

Residents have already given plenty of input. More than 1,100 people answered the first community questionnaire. More than 500 took part in the Future of Rec activity at the Wilmette Block Party, choosing the spaces and amenities they would want in an ideal recreation center. A more detailed follow-up survey on how households use these facilities had a deadline of Sunday, November 8. Its answers will shape the preliminary concepts for all three sites. The District lists public meetings and workshops as part of the process, so Centennial's regulars will have more chances to weigh in.

This winter, the parking lot and the planning study are part of the same project. The 2023 roof survey forced the tower off the roof, the tower brought the sound wall and the prairie art, and the roof work the tower prepares for is now part of a study on Centennial's future. Meanwhile, the Saturday 1 p.m. session still costs $9, and the Holiday Exhibition still goes on December 13.

When Centennial's roof work and study findings arrive, they will affect how families think about the Old Glenview Road area, and Nicole Fabiano follows these Park District decisions closely for her North Shore clients. If you're thinking about what your Wilmette home is worth as the area changes, request a complimentary home valuation and we'll go over it with you.