Christchurch considers ice skating rink to revitalise Catherdral Square

A Christchurch city councillor has proposed building a winter ice skating rink in Cathedral Square, as part of plans to revitalise the area, where the earthquake-damaged Anglican cathedral remains a construction site.

Five groups have been shortlisted and will be asked to submit their proposals for the square's redesign, before one is chosen to come up with a concept plan with a council budget of $28.5 million.

Councillor Aaron Keown said new pavers and planter boxes would not be enough to attract people to the heart of the city, but an outdoor ice rink would bring winter crowds to Cathedral Square.

"For me, the square is the centre of town and you want to bring people in," he said. "An ice rink would mean that, right when it is usually at its quietest, it would be the busiest.

"I see it as an event site as well. I'd love us to host a major figure skating event each year right in the square, with all those lovely old buildings lit up."

Keown said the council could cover set-up costs, while hire fees covered operational costs over three months.

Councillor Nathaniel Herz Jardine believed the idea would be popular with the public, with "achievable" costs of about $200,000 to set up a rink.

"What we need the most, more than big expensive architectural plans, is something to re-activate the square, to get people back in the area," he said. "One of the big gaps we have in the city is something affordable for young people and families, something people can do when the city can feel pretty quiet, between 3-5pm weekdays or on weekends."

Central ward councillor Jake McLellan looked forward to staff feedback on the idea.

"We have had a temporary ice rink, it was something we put up for a couple of years over winter, so yeah, happy to look at it," he said.

Mayor Phil Mauger was not available for comment.

A 375 square-metre skating rink operated by Ice World New Zealand was open for KidsFest in July 2017, near the old post office building.

At the time, the company expected about 10,000 to try out the rink over the school holidays.

Christ Church Cathedral in Cathedral Square remains fenced off from the public, after years of financial wrangling to fund the building's restoration.

The project was mothballed in 2024, when costs blew out to $248m, before being revised to $219m, although a $40-45 million shortfall remained.

On Tuesday, councillors will decide whether to allocate $15m from a surplus towards the cathedral, on the condition the government also contributes $15m, despite the cathedral receiving only 14 percent public support during consultation.

In March, NZ First leader Winston Peters pledged to contribute an extra $15 million to the cathedral rebuild, if his party was part of the next government.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.