Time’s running out to skate at the South Haven Ice Rink for the season.

South Haven Assistant City Manager Michael Landis tells us the last day for skating will be March 1 and then work on some major improvements will start at the facility. He says the winter season has been pretty busy.

“The ice rink was still put to great use this year,” Landis said. “We had 5,700 visitors, which is a little bit lower than we’ve had in the past. But the weather conditions are something that we like to deal with here on the west side and the lake effect.”

Plus, Landis says there were some days when the weather was so cold the rink wasn’t opened because few people would have braved the temperatures just for skating. He says a $2 million improvement project will start at the rink on March 2.

“So that’s going to close the Dyckman Pavilion from March 2 through June 15. With that, we’re going to melt the ice rink, and we’re going to start to sink new ice chillers within the new set of concrete for the ice rink.”

This will make setting up the rink for skating each winter easier and less time consuming for staff. Landis tells residents the construction project will mean the closure of some of the pavilion parking spots for a while. It’s hoped the project can be completed in the early summer.

Landis notes the rink this season hosted more than 1,500 students from schools around the area with free skate days.