Osu Ice Rink

Alright, stick with me regarding why I'm giving five stars. Our daughter has been taking ice skating lessons at the Ohio State rink for nearly a year. The classes are some of the most affordable in the area and come with rental skates and a pass for open skate. The first class, toddler course, has five teachers and they are all really great with the little ones (which I admire as I could not be with that many little kids learning to skate all at once). As you continue to take classes here and attend the open skate you can tell that there is a community here and a sense of pride over this being "their rink" for the families that come here and the kiddos. This is also the rink where the D1 Women's team currently plays and while I agree with the other reviewer they should get an upgrade it is fun to see the kids at the games and knowing that they too skate there.On particular nights, especially Friday if there is open skate be prepared for lines as the college students do come out of the woodwork and skate. The staff is all friendly, often into skating or club hockey if you go for a few weeks or take a class they will start being familiar with your face. So, while yes, this rink is a bit dated and could be upgraded it still receives a five star from us due to the community feel, friendliness and accessibility.

I grew up going to this ice rink, and it's provided so many great memories, but I can't judge a place on memories and the rink and facility aren't the greatest. They still have public skating and lessons, which is great for beginners, especially OSU students. The OSU Women's team still plays here, but I'm sure they could get an upgrade.Anyway, I'm not here to judge the rink. I came to talk about how awesome their pro shop is, along with the guys working there. I broke my skate blade in half on Wednesday right before Thanksgiving, which was a pain because I had a game on Sunday. Even worse, I have some old skates and Hockey Stop didn't have the part I needed when I called them Friday morning, but the guys at the OSU rink did! Not only did they have the blade, but they told me to come in, and they'd have it fixed in a half hour. I went over there, and it took them about an hour to fix, and I was back on the skates by Sunday. This is something that a lot of spots would usually take a day or two to get done so kudos to how quickly the staff at the OSU Ice Rink helped me out.On a side note, parking here can be kind of annoying. It's pay and display, so if you do decide to go here, make sure you get a slip from the machine in the parking lot to display on your windshield, or you could get a ticket.

Most Ohio State students stand ignorant to the fact that there is, indeed, an ice rink at the university. It is nestled modestly between the ROTC building and St. John's Arena; all of which are dwarfed by the Shoe across the street.I've been skating at the rink since I was in first grade. It was the first thing I thought of when I thought "Ohio State." Throughout the years there has been one major remodeling (which greatly improved the atmosphere). It tends to be chillier in the winter, and can get quite hot for an ice rink during the summer months. The rink is not an Olympic rink and the ice seems softer than many hockey rinks.The staff is mainly college students doing homework, but they always help me whenever I ask. Skate sharpening is done at the rink. I am very picky and do not let anyone but Duke (the manager) sharpen my skates.This rink is home to hockey teams, the Columbus Figure Skating Club, and The Ohio State University Figure Skating Club. It also holds public skates from week to week.

Columbus has no shortage of options for people to go and skate. Some of the rinks are better than others, but this one is probably tied for worst in my book. The only real positive thing I can say about this rink is that it seems to be relatively unknown or at least unused by most OSU students as with the exception of some Friday/Saturday nights it's usually not very crowded for public skates.I don't like to rant, but everything else about this place pretty much sucks. The Ice quality here is terrible, it's very soft no matter what the weather and even on uncrowded nights it deteriorates in a matter of minutes of being skated on. To make matters worse, you have to pay to park which makes it more expensive to skate here for non-OSU students (like me) than at any of the much better maintained chiller rinks, even more than the Ice Haus in the Arena District (which validates your parking in the attached garage).Maybe this last complaint is nit-picking, but I hope for OSU's sake that whoever had the brilliant idea to design a public rink with bathrooms down on a bunch of steps on a different floor than the skating area, didn't get his/her architectural design degree from OSU.Bottom line, don't go here unless you find yourself really wanting to skate, with no other option.

The kid classes are fabulous. The staff is super nice. The staff to child ratio is excellent. Love that parents don't have to go out on the ice. Class is our highlight for our family each weekend.