There will be a massive, shimmering ice creation in downtown Stillwater next winter.
Ice Castles LLC, which previously built in Eden Prairie and at the Mall of America, plans to build an attraction in Lowell Park that will be open from late December to March 2017, weather permitting.
Situating the castle on an acre of land on the shore of the St. Croix River makes perfect sense, said Amanda Roseth, site manager.
“It’s the perfect backdrop,” said Roseth, who grew up in Mahtomedi. “We were talking … about where else could we go, where we could build on the whole experience and drive more people there and make it a more complete package, and I said ‘Stillwater.’ ”
Roseth said she persuaded owner Ryan Davis, who lives in Utah, to drive to Stillwater to tour the site.
“I said ‘Look at it, and you will know when you see it that it’s the perfect spot,’” she said. “He called me right away and said, ‘You’re right. This is it. This is it.’”
Ice Castles officials hope to build a winter castle on city-owned land in downtown Stillwater annually for the next few years, Roseth said. The Stillwater City Council must approve the plan; an application for an events permit was filed late last week.
A sketch of the plan for a new Ice Castle to be built in downtown Stillwater this winter.
“This isn’t going to be a one-and-done in Stillwater,” Roseth said. “We wanted a city that would agree to host it for a number of consecutive years; we want it to be a permanent fixture. That’s not to say we won’t move it in five years, but we would like to have it there for at least a good number of years.”
Opening during the winter of 2016-2017 is serendipitous because it will coincide with Hockey Day Minnesota, the annual celebration co-sponsored by the Minnesota Wild and Fox Sports North that includes high school, college and professional games. The Stillwater games will be played on an outdoor rink just north of the proposed ice castle site.
Mayor Ted Kozlowski said he expects city officials to approve the plan. He said one of the city’s goals is to provide more wintertime events and attractions and become “a year-round city.”
“I really like the idea of focusing on the wintertime and working on doing something really cool downtown to get more people down here in the winter months,” he said. “Plus, this looks really cool.”
Instead of using blocks of ice to build a traditional ice palace, crews use icicles and water to make a towering, glacier-like structure — like something out of “Frozen,” Roseth said. Thousands of LED lights are embedded in the ice, she said.
“It’s a winter wonderland, almost a Narnia-like experience,” Roseth said. “We describe it as a magical collision of a frozen waterfall, an ice cave and a glacier.”
New this year will be two ice slides — built next to each other — so visitors can race, she said.
“People like to experience the ice — go down ice slides and in the caves and tunnels,” she said. “Every year we change the design so it’s new and unique. Last year, we had a really fun slide, but only one could do it a time.”
An admission price has yet to be determined. Group discounts will be offered; price discounts for field trips for students enrolled in the Stillwater Area School District will also be available, Roseth said.
More than 60,000 visitors are expected to tour the castle, said Robin Anthony, executive director of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. She said those visitors will also shop in local stores, eat at local restaurants and stay in local hotels and inns.
The estimated economic impact? $2 million to $26 million, she said.
“The amount of revenue it would bring to the downtown businesses during such a slow time … would be pretty substantial,” Anthony said. “It’s good for the community, it’s good for businesses, it’s good for everyone.”
For more information go to www.icecastles.com
Copyright 2016 Pioneer Press.
