Folsom Ice Skating Rink Reopens After Weeks Of Delays

FOLSOM (CBS13) — Three weeks behind schedule, but the Folsom Ice Rink opened Wednesday with all the excitement expected.

The soft sounds of Christmas music and the twinkle of holiday lights were often interrupted by the sounds of beginners on ice.

"I like it. I notice the lights and I really like those," said 9-year-old Paisley Zachariah.

Positive thoughts are what they need at the Folsom Ice Rink, where getting up and running hasn't been easy. They've had nearly a dozen incidents involving nearly 20 people jumping the fence and ruining the equipment — which pushed back opening day roughly three weeks.

"It's just sickening. They're probably coming from the bars," said Brian Jackson, the rink COO and designer. "They're out there pretending like they're skating out there and they have no idea how fragile the floor is."

All eyes have been on the rink waiting for repairs to wrap up. Bayside Church had to keep canceling its youth trip.

"We just had to keep moving the date, 'Oh, we think the ice is going to be done on this date,' and then we'd tell everybody and they're like 'awww' and then here we are," said Brian Hopkins, pastor at Bayside Church Folsom.

But the wait was well worth it.

"It's a huge burden lifted off of us because getting open is our whole goal — to see the smiling faces," Jackson said. "I mean, this is actually a labor of love."

The owners of the rink want the vandals caught, and they are also hoping for donations so they can get the rink back up and running again next year.