ADDISON, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Uncertainty about what will be open this winter has some families considering installing ice rinks in their yards.
DuPage Installers builds them and is seeing an increased interest that the owner thinks is due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aurelio Ortega told WBBM in addition to his regular hockey or ice skating clients, DuPage Installers is getting calls from parents wondering how to keep their kids active while they’re e-learning.
The Addison-based company has been building rinks for about five years from Wicker Park on the North Side to Wisconsin.
Ortega said things he’s been busy for the last two months assessing the slope and size of yards to give quotes.
It’s typically not cold enough to put in the rinks until mid-December, so his crews began putting up the framework around Thanksgiving and fill the rinks two weeks later.
For those worried about our unpredictable Chicago weather, Ortega sells a chiller that he pledges will keep the ice frozen in the middle of a heat wave.
