Christmas tree? Check. Light show? Check. Reindeer? Check.

Ice rink?

Check.

This year for the university’s celebration of the holiday season, the Student Government Association will set up an artificial ice rink in the Campus Commons to add to the festivities.

Programming Council Chair Kennedy Stewart described the 20-by-30-foot rink, which will be provided by Artificial Ice Events, as a wax board that would be pieced together on the ground. She said that when she saw the artificial rink at a programming council conference last winter, she started to imagine one in Fort Worth.

“We’re trying to always bring something new and exciting to the tree lighting every year,” Stewart said. “The year (before last) we had the light show, and last year we had a reindeer, so this year we really wanted to do something big.”

According to the Artificial Ice Events Web site, the synthetic ice is made of plastic polymer that resembles a large cutting board. The rink is pieced together in 4-by-8 foot synthetic ice sheets and treated with a lubricating solution that would make it easier to glide on with ice skates.

From 50 to 60 students will be allowed on the rink at one time and use skates that Artificial Ice Events will provide, Stewart said. SGA will not know the final cost of the rink until after it is set up, she said.

Some people have complained that the holiday celebration will be moved from Sadler Lawn to the Campus Commons, but that is not how Programming Council viewed it, Stewart said.

“We don’t really look at it as changing the tradition, we just look at it as moving it,” Stewart said. “We’ve made it as big and as grand as we can at Sadler, so we’re going to move it to the Commons because it’s a great location, it’s very centralized for campus, and we can really do a lot more at that location.”

The rink will be on the paved stone close to the Brown-Lupton University Union, next to the 42-foot tall Christmas tree, Stewart said. The tree, which will be transported from Michigan, would be the second largest Christmas tree in North Texas when it gets here, Stewart said.

Junior sports broadcasting major Leah Watkins said she looked forward to the rink.

“I think that it would be a fun activity for students and it would be something new and different to bring to the TCU campus,” Watkins said.

The rink will be open Dec. 1-3 for three to four hours, with the Christmas tree lighting scheduled for Dec. 2. Stewart said the rink would stay open for an extra two hours on Dec. 3 for children in the community to use because the university would receive two free hours of the rink if it opened it to the community.

After children skate, they will be able to take a trackless train ride to Worth Hills for Interfraternity Council’s Winter Wonderland.

The rink will be free for all students and for the community skate, Stewart said.

Skating Hours

Dec. 1 – 4-8 p.m.

Dec. 2 – 8 p.m.-midnight (after Christmas tree lighting)

Dec. 3 – 1-4 p.m.

Dec. 3 – 4-6 p.m. (for children in the community)