A Special Statement from David Street Station Regarding the 2022-2023 Winter Season
To our beloved community:
We’ve hit a bump in the road that will make our 2022-2023 winter season look a little different than previous years. As you may or may not know, our outdoor ice rink requires an industrial chiller to keep the ice frozen and accessible for skating. Due to supply chain issues that are out of our control, our supplier has made us aware that they do not have an available chiller for us to rent this year (and yes, we reached out far in advance).
After hearing this news, we worked hard behind the scenes to try and find another chiller that would allow us to move forward with the ice rink. After several phone calls to multiple companies across the nation, we were left with two options: pay for another chiller rental that would be nearly triple in price or to forego having an ice rink this season. Because it would be financially irresponsible to our operational health to pay that amount, we unfortunately will not be able to host an outdoor ice rink this upcoming season.
Since David Street Station is privately funded, not financially affiliated with the City of Casper, and receives no taxpayer dollars, we rely solely on sponsorships, donations, and grants to operate and bring free events to our community. We know you might be wondering why don’t we just buy a chiller instead of rent one, but with a limited yearly budget, it simply is a cost ($300K+/- pre-covid) that we can’t pay out all at once in our current financial state. It would be our hope that we can eventually raise enough funds to be able to purchase an ice rink chiller, so that our facility and community never have to experience this uncertainty again.
Although it saddens us to announce this, we’ve chosen to make the best of this situation as we hope you, our community, will do the same. We know you may be asking questions such as “what does this mean for our holiday season? If there’s no ice skating, what else will there be to do? What about the Community Christmas Tree?”
First and foremost, we will still have our Community Christmas Tree on display, and we will still be doing our tree lighting ceremony as we’ve always done! We’ve also already rolled up our sleeves and started to come up with new and exciting activities to do this winter season at the station. These include, but are not limited to: holiday markets, photos and activities with Santa, an ugly sweater party, live music under the lights, holiday themed gatherings, and more!
Which we are sure brings you to your next question. “It will be cold outside; how do you plan to put on these events? No one will come!” Well, this is where we hope for a Christmas miracle! It is our goal to find a large commercial canopy with walls that would create a sheltered event space, that also fits within our financial limitations. We already began reaching out to companies near and far. Whether this type of solution comes from a company or another non-profit, we will be open to any help from our community to make something of this caliber happen. If we are able to secure this type of covered space, no matter snow, rain, or shine, it will be event time!
When David Street Station was built, we promised year-round programming and activities for our community, and that is just what we are going to do. Although there will be no ice rink, there will still be holiday spirit in the air, twinkling lights aglow, and coming together as a community. We thank you all in advance for your understanding, and sincerely apologize to those who looked forward to the ice rink this year. As we continue to plan out the winter season, if you or an organization you know would like to get involved, potentially sponsor a new winter event, or have access to a large industrial tent or free industrial sized heater, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@davidstreetstation.com.
Stay tuned on what’s to come, and get excited for a whole new winter experience at David Street Station!