A wide view of the empty rink inside the enclosed arena, with orange-trimmed boards, a "Rink Entrance" sign on the near dasher and bleachers along the far side.Photo: Google Maps listing · Source
Brattleboro's town rink since 1975
The Nelson Withington Skating Facility opened in 1975 in Living Memorial Park, land the town bought through a community-wide fund drive in the early 1950s. Local, state and federal money paid for it. It was built as an outdoor rink, with a warming shelter at one end and fabric along three sides to block the wind.
The rink closed in over the years. Permanent walls went up in 1998, locker rooms were added, and bleachers and radiant heat came in 2004. Brattleboro Union High School's girls' and boys' hockey teams practice and play here, as do the Brattleboro Hockey Association's teams from toddlers to teens, adult hockey, a speed skating program and the Brattleboro Figure Skating Club. The club formed shortly after the rink was built and stages an annual ice show; the 2016 edition, Fantasy on Ice, put skaters in costume as characters from The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter.
By 2022 the building was showing its age. The town's recreation director said it still ran on 1970s refrigeration technology, and its uninsulated 80,000-square-foot roof, never designed for an indoor rink, drips condensation onto the walkways on warmer days. A new roof and refrigeration system made up the bulk of a $4.3 million park upgrade the department proposed that November.
Before you head out.
Admission, rentals and arrival details, researched from official rink information. Source checks stay current for 30 days.
Admission
Daily visit: Brattleboro residents, students $4 and adults $5; non-residents, students $5 and adults $6. The public skating schedule marks Monday 7 to 9 p.m. as Dollar Night and Saturday (1:30 to 4 p.m., 7 to 9 p.m.) as Dollar Day; the page prints no separate amount for them. Season passes are also sold. Stick Time fees are per visit: Brattleboro students $4, Brattleboro adults $5, non-Brattleboro students $5, non-Brattleboro adults $6. Open Adult Hockey is $11 for residents and $13 for non-residents per visit.
