The Skating Club of Boston
750 University AvenueIt’s always fun with my work intertwines with my personal life. Well…not always, but sometimes anyway.
I was in Boston late last week for work. It also happened to be the same time US Figure Skating’s Champs Camp and Summer Sizzler were happening. I’m not going to say that I was mad I ended up at the show on Thursday night.
The Skating Club of Boston has a huge figure skating facility in Norwood on University Avenue west of Dedham Street. This facility has to be the envy of every club in the country. Opened in 2020, there are three rinks, two of which are used exclusively for figure skating. The building is kind of far removed from the main population area in Norwood because this land used to be a golf course. The only thing really nearby is a Home Depot distribution Center just down the road.
When you walk in the front doors, there’s a ticket office, a reception desk and a long hallway that gets you to the three rinks. The large rink is actually right in front of you but it’s blocked off with black curtains so you don’t actually realize that’s what it is when you walk in. You have to go upstairs to get to the seating section if you’re there for a show.
We’ll start with the two smaller rinks. The west rink is one of the two rinks used exclusively for figure skating. It’s a 1500 seat arena with an NHL sized ice sheet.
The East Rink is on the other side of the main rink. This ice sheet is also an NHL sized ice sheet but unlike West Rink, this rink is used for both figure skating and hockey. This side of the building actually has it’s own entrance and own lobby area for the hockey season. There are locker rooms along one side of the rink that share a hallway with the main performance center so they can be used on both sides.
Before I get to the main performance rink, let’s talk food. This is supposedly a food blog, right?
There’s a really great cafe right near East Rink. The 1240 Cafe is accessible from both the figure skating and hockey sides of the building. It looks like a pretty typical sports concession stand with snacks and drinks but the menu is much fancier and much healthier than a typical sports concession stand.
They have some premade options but there are also build your own sandwich options.
And build your own salad options.
This is how a concession stand inside a training facility should be. You still have the guilty pleasure chicken tenders and hot dogs but there are healthier, tastier options as well.
The main rink at The Skating Club of Boston is the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center. Named after club member Tenley Albright, who was the first woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics in 1956. The Performance Center is a 2500 seat Olympic sized rink used exclusively for figure skating.
There’s a nice wide concourse along the top which leads down to rows of plush stadium style seating.
Along one wall is the History Wall which tells the story of the Skating Club of Boston showcasing some of the skaters and moments that have defined this club over the last century.
There are also two concession stands on either side of the History Wall. These are open during competitions and shows like this but not during regular club skating hours. This is much more traditional sporting event foods that are easy to crank out quickly.
The venue was full for the show. I think I heard someone say it was a sell out. It was pretty amazing to see all these high level skaters in one place. A lot of them debuted their short programs for the season while a few (Chock/Bates, Green/Parsons) did exhibition programs or a program from last year (Malinin).
I told J after seeing a show here that it would be really cool if our club could take over Lawson and do something like this. Not to this scale but make a figure skating only facility. There was so much more to this facility that I didn’t see. Weight rooms, dance rooms, meeting rooms, etc.
The Skating Club of Boston’s facility has to be the envy of smaller clubs all over the country. This is an amazing facility that is figure skating focused. We have talked about making the drive to Boston a couple of times over the last few years for World Championship events and even this event before I knew I was going to be in Boston last week. It’s such a cool space and as someone who spends a lot of time at ice rinks, I’m incredibly jealous.
SW Michigan Dining 
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