A new concrete pad sits beside the southwest parking lot at Centennial Recreation Complex, 2300 Old Glenview Road. The Record North Shore described it as a large "slab" going in over the summer. It was built for one piece of equipment, and that equipment has not arrived.
According to the Park District's October 12 board report, the new cooling tower for the Centennial Ice Rinks should be delivered in early November. The manufacturer moved the District's production date to make room for a Department of Defense order. The sound wall meant to surround the tower is also running late, with delivery now set for November.
The rinks have run their public skate schedule since August, and the season goes until June. This winter, the District is putting $1.3 million into the equipment that keeps that ice frozen. Over the same months, a separate study is asking what Centennial, the Community Recreation Center and a third property should become. The tower project and the study run on separate schedules, but each shapes the other.
Why the Tower Is Coming Off the Roof
The cooling tower is part of the refrigeration system for both Centennial rinks. The current tower went in about 13 years ago and sits on the roof inside a five-foot parapet wall. Because it rises only a few feet above that wall, it can't draw enough air. The Park District's project page says this lowered its efficiency and wore it out early. A structural survey of the arena roof in 2023 also found serious deterioration in the roof parts and structure around the tower.
The District's first plan was to put a new tower back on the roof. In a memo for the Park Board's May 11 meeting, Josh Wallace, the superintendent of parks and planning, wrote that this wasn't possible "due to insufficient clearance to meet current engineering standards and manufacturer spacing requirements," The Record North Shore reported. That decision moved the tower to the ground.
The Park Board voted unanimously for a $1.3 million contract with ProTemp Mechanical of Westchester. That was well under the $2.05 million the District had budgeted. The District's project page says a $250,000 State of Illinois grant also supports the work.
"It was a lot of money, and it's still a lot of money, but it's a lot less than it could have been," Commissioner Mike Murdock said, as quoted by The Record. Board President Patrick Lahey told the same outlet he was "very happy with the methodical and deliberate nature staff has undertaken to get us to this point."
The Order of Work Still Ahead
Taken together, the District's statements show that the tower is the first step in a longer job on the building. Here is the work that remains:
- Sound wall. Wallace wrote that the acoustical wall is meant to meet the Village's noise ordinance. The Village Zoning Board of Appeals recommended it unanimously, and the Village Board approved it. Its footers are poured, and the wall itself should arrive in November.
- Tower delivery and switchover. Executive Director Chris Lindgren told the board that once the new tower is in place, crews will disconnect the old one and connect everything to the new unit. The project also moves a ComEd service line.
- Roof restoration. Lindgren said taking the old tower off the roof means the roof will need repairs. He expected to bring bids to the board by the end of this year, and the money is already in next year's budget.
- The wrap. The District plans to cover the south, east and west sides of the new tower with a printed vinyl wrap. Residents voted on six design options through October 15, and the wrap is scheduled for spring.
The District's own description says the project supports "the long-term future of Centennial Ice Arenas" and prepares the building "for future structural and roof improvements."
What the Season Looks Like on the Ice
The fall-to-spring public skate schedule runs from August 17, 2026, to June 5, 2027. Sessions are Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Fridays are set aside for Hockey Stick & Puck. Admission per session is $9 for adults 18 and older, $8 for ages 6 to 17, and $4 for ages 5 and under. Skate rental costs $5. Current details are on the public skate page.
The holiday calendar is fuller than the weekly schedule:
| Date | Event | Time | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | Spooky Skate, with games and a costume contest | 1–2:30 p.m. | $5 in costume; free for ages 5 and under |
| Friday, Nov. 6 | TGIF Skate | 7:30 p.m. | See the ice events calendar |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | Holiday Exhibition | 1:30 p.m. | See the ice events calendar |
| Thursday, Dec. 24 | Skate with Santa | 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Tied to a non-perishable food donation; free for ages 5 and under |
| Thursday, Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve Skate | Noon–1:30 p.m. | Standard public skate fees |
Learn-to-skate classes and youth hockey are among the rinks' main programs, according to the District's feasibility study request for proposals. Those programs keep the building busy outside public skate hours.
The Study Around the Rink
While the tower crew works outside, the Park District's Comprehensive Recreation Feasibility Study is looking at three properties together. They are the Community Recreation Center at 3000 Glenview Road, the Centennial Recreation Complex, and Big Tree Lane. The District says the options under review run from keeping the facilities as they are to renovating, expanding or rebuilding them, or adding new amenities. It also states that "no decisions have been made."
The buildings have a long history. The study's request for proposals lists the Community Recreation Center as built in 1968, with 100,870 square feet. It dates Centennial's main building to 1972 and the rink renovation to 2001. Big Tree Lane is the property at 3220 Big Tree Lane. The District bought it from Beth Hillel Congregation in 2024 and leases it to Beth Hillel and the Wilmette Police Department through 2027.
The board picked Wight & Company to lead the study after nine architecture and planning firms competed for the job. Wight started in July 2026. The study came out of the District's 2023–2024 comprehensive and strategic planning, when common feedback pointed to aging facilities, accessibility and changing recreation trends.
At an August 24 visioning session with the Park Board, Commissioner Cecilia Clarke asked whether Wight was looking only at a recreation building. She pointed out that residents might want passive open space instead. Wight's Bobbi Nance answered that "facility" was being used to mean "space," and the choices offered to residents included walking trails, picnic areas and outdoor courts. Jim Thormeyer of Wight told the board there is no implied direction in the study. Commissioner Julie Adrianopoli asked about nearby communities. The consultants said they had identified similar recreation providers within 10 miles.
The participation counts have grown as the study has gone on. The August 24 minutes record 844 survey postcards collected through the end of August. They also note conversations with nearly 200 groups, about 350 people, at the District's Wilmette Block Party tent. By October 7, the District's project page put the totals at more than 1,100 questionnaire responses and more than 500 Block Party participants.
The District set October 28 as the deadline for its more detailed follow-up survey. The District says those answers will shape preliminary concepts for all three properties, and a summary will be posted on the project webpage this winter. The District's public timeline calls for refining options and drafting recommendations in late fall, then presenting the final report to the board in winter 2026/27.
Where the Two Timelines Meet
The tower is set to arrive in early November. Roof restoration bids are expected by the end of the year. Feasibility study recommendations are due over the winter. All of this falls within the same skating season.
The refrigeration equipment moved to the ground because it could no longer work properly on the roof. That move clears the way for roof repairs the District has already budgeted. If delivery stays on its revised schedule, the rinks should be running on new cooling equipment behind a sound wall by the time Wight & Company presents its concepts for Centennial. Any recommendation for the complex would build on that investment.
The October 12 packet lists a regular Park Board meeting on November 9 and a Committee of the Whole meeting on November 16, and the calendar doesn't mark either one as a study presentation. Updates on the tower and the study will appear on the District's project pages first, and the next board packet should show whether the tower arrived on its revised early-November schedule.
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