Girona has been left without one of the main Christmas attractions. The ice rink on which a total of 18,400 skaters slid last year - the highest number since its installation at the Palau Firal in 2008 - has been discarded this year due to the drought.
This was decided by the Fira de Girona board in a meeting held this morning. A measure that comes a few days before the opening of this facility, which planned to open between December 23 and January 7.
If a year ago what worried those responsible for Fira de Girona was the price of energy, this year all eyes were on the drought, which has left the swamps almost dry.
The forecast, as reported a few days ago by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), involved reducing the facility's water consumption by 40% in two years, which in normal situations uses about 80,000 liters. In this sense, the forecast was to reduce the figure to 48,000 liters this campaign.
The goal was to reduce the thickness of the ice sheet after a year ago, the layer had already become thinner. It went from 10 millimeters to 7. Finally, the Patronat has ruled out the installation and is expected to announce its reasons this afternoon through a press release.
It remains to be seen if there will be any leisure alternative at Fira de Girona aimed at children and adolescents, who were the main users of the track, during this Christmas campaign.
Girona is thus left without one of its main attractions this time of year. A facility present in the city since 2006, when the track was located outdoors, in the Plaza de la Constitució, renamed U d'octubre in 2017. That was the location chosen for the first two years until 2008, The equipment made the leap towards the Palau Firal.
A year ago, there was nothing to predict that it would be the last, for the moment, of the ice rink in the city. In fact, the organizers were studying expanding the track by 100 more square meters for this edition. The one in Girona was one of the largest courts in Catalonia with 800 square meters.
Whoever wants to go ice skating can do so in other cities that, for the moment, have not ruled out the installation, such as Platja d'Aro, Olot or Blanes, which for the first time has decided to install a synthetic ice rink. Llanars, a small municipality in Ripollès, also maintains its track.
