Will the Ice Rink at Pattaya Harbor ever open?

[thaibeachlovers]

Sounds like the management need something "different" to put in to attract the crowds, but being LOS I wouldn't hold my breath.

Perhaps that is what the ice skating is about, but one would think they'd want to hurry up and finish it before all the clients pack up and leave.

[lamyai3]

On 11/3/2016 at 9:06 PM, aerozeppelin said:

I want to see ladyboys on ice

 

Bear in mind the ice probably causes some shrinkage... 

[JSixpack]

Rain has fallen on the parade; the smug complacency of TVF has been shattered for at least 2 minutes.

 

Impossible! Say again?

 

Our ace TVF Mall Experts, with their distinguished track records, had long sneered at the notion that Harbor would ever have an ice skating rink.

 

On 4/11/2016 at 9:46 AM, fforest1 said:

Any one who has been to the mall and walked around for 5 minutes will realize

there is no room for a ice skating rink

 

For some reason the rink became its own OCD, popping up in entirely unrelated threads, one of the targets for the mighty TVF Pointing Finger Of Justice. Thais had broken the contract set in stone! They didn't follow the schedule!  So it was just never gonna happen. :)

 

 

On 2/27/2017 at 10:40 AM, fforest1 said:

All the condos in Pattaya should be finished about the time we

get the ice skating rink in Harbor mall that Joe-sixpack

promised us or a much improved promenade on beach road

that we are still waiting for.... 

 

 

On 10/31/2016 at 7:38 PM, Anthony5 said:

. . . could somebody confirm if they are actually building an ice rink, or is the whole concept just another pie in the sky?

 

On 1/20/2017 at 1:53 AM, Allstars said:

How is the ice rink and fitness first doing in Harbor these days?

 

Not that most members actually care anything about ice skating, of course. Well, champers does:

 

On 2/27/2017 at 0:14 PM, champers said:

Yes, where is that skating rink? I've bought the skates, I've bought the tutu. All to no avail.

 

But then some were hoping to sneer at the stupid Thais trying to do what only farang always do gracefully. Hee hee!

 

Siezetheday: Thais on an ice rink, now that would be funny.

 

So I hate to cause another round of depression and balcony jumps among our economists, already suffering from imminent Tunnel opening, which won't flood after all, but I have to report the awful truth that

 

THE ICE SKATING RINK IS OPEN!

 

 

And as school's out, was quite well enjoyed this afternoon by a lot of happy kids. Word spread fast. I didn't find anything funnier about Thais on a rink than anyone else. And sorry, but some Thais were skating extremely well, too.

 

Not a large rink but appropriate & good 'nuff for playing around. Wear a sweater if you're going to sit & watch your kids. Maybe it was no coincidence that the mall in general was doing well today. :)

 

champers, break out the tutu and skates and head on over!

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by JSixpack

[jimmybkk]

Great news! When you say not a huge rink, is it anywhere close to the 1,000 sq.m. that was being advertised previously? Because that wouldn't be huge but would definitely be big enough for most of us hacks. Any smaller though and it starts getting a wee bit tight, depending on how popular it becomes.

[pegman]

1 hour ago, jimmybkk said:

Great news! When you say not a huge rink, is it anywhere close to the 1,000 sq.m. that was being advertised previously? Because that wouldn't be huge but would definitely be big enough for most of us hacks. Any smaller though and it starts getting a wee bit tight, depending on how popular it becomes.

That's about 2/3 of a North American hockey rink such as used by my 5 year old grandson. For kids under 9 there is a barricade placed along the far blue line. 

[JSixpack]

2 hours ago, jimmybkk said:

Great news! When you say not a huge rink, is it anywhere close to the 1,000 sq.m. that was being advertised previously? Because that wouldn't be huge but would definitely be big enough for most of us hacks. Any smaller though and it starts getting a wee bit tight, depending on how popular it becomes.

 

Well, our ace construction engineers would pounce if I were off by so much as a millimeter in my size estimation and I'd never hear the end of it. They'll be out with tape measures and magnifying glasses soon enough to see if ALL the imagined contractual requirements have been been fully met--and whinge if not. In fact, the demand has already been made for a PROPER rink, i.e., International Hockey League standards.

 

We're terribly concerned with "proper" everything round here, like they always have in the UK, including proper taxes and fees. Yeah, it'll be hard to let go of this particular comfort blanket, the rink bash. Let the excuses for NOT skating start to pour in.

 

Anyway, who knows how popular it'll become. If very, they could simply limit the number of skaters as does Rockefeller Center, where the rink is less than 800 sqm. Good 'nuff for Rockefeller, good 'nuff for Harbor. But I'd say that when school's in session, at least, most of us hacks will have sufficient room to mess about. Today was pretty nice; some skaters reached decent speeds out there, briefly. Go take a look for yourself. 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by JSixpack

[DMC1]

Popped up for a look yesterday. Looks bigger than I expected and I'll definitely be having a go. There were a group of kids having lessons while I was there. I noticed 2-3 Russians came in an inspected the edge of the rink and then went out the rear exit checking stuff where the compressors are - possibly the business owners?

[finewine]

Thanks for updating me, as by chance we were going Harborland yesterday. Had an enjoyable morning.

 

Good price at 220 baht per hour, all inclusive. Note that there is a half-hour break between skating sessions.  Well worth trying.  Booking number is 086 341 9435.

 

Even better now as the roller blade area is open (280 baht for 3 hours) including the infamous socks.

 

Good to see that the management are working hard on attracting families.

[fforest1]

The new ice skating rink just opened on April 10th.....

It is about a third to a fourth the size of a full sized ice skating rink

you would see in the west...Not too bad for Pattaya I guess....

 

The cost was 280 Baht when we were there.. No double pricing....

The start times are every hour or so but I forget exactly...

 

For Thais or anyone who has never ice skated a 500 baht lesson is required..Not a bad idea really ......Better than watch a bunch

of Thais flopping around on the ice like a fish out of water....

 

 

[stravers]

I was there today and it's a nice addition to our city. However, the ice is cleaned by a hose and broom and clearly not often.

[JSixpack]

3 hours ago, fforest1 said:

For Thais or anyone who has never ice skated a 500 baht lesson is required..Not a bad idea really ......Better than watch a bunch

of Thais flopping around on the ice like a fish out of water....

 

Disappointing for our bigots. But this means we can't watch the old farang who think they know all about ice skating, and everything else, out there rolling around on their fat stomachs & breaking their hips and backs.

 

Edited April 12, 2017 by JSixpack

[Satcommlee]

There are two here in Korat in competing Malls... novelty at first but now empty and devoid of customers..

 

Good sense not to open it in Pattaya.

[fforest1]

The ice skating rink is big enough that I think that even farangs that

have not ice skated in years or decades could still have some

fun there.....

[DMC1]

The ice skating rink is big enough that I think that even farangs that
have not ice skated in years or decades could still have some
fun there.....

I haven't ice skated for 30 years but I still reckon I can give a bit of the old Torvill and Dean (and then fall flat on my a***)!

[gk10002000]

thanks for posting the photos.  Doesn't seem to be a very appealing setup visually.    I mean a rink is a rink, but in some of the malls in the USA that have rinks, they tend to be open, so people can look in and you can look out.  It is almost a show piece. 

[gk10002000]

Now if they would invest a few billion baht and do a modern reliable sewage and garbage system for the city so that one could actually swim I the Gulf water, they might get a tourist destination with families and lots of kids and lots of repeat business.  Or really push the expat retiree or living long time due to marriage, work, etc market. 

[JSixpack]

29 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

thanks for posting the photos.  Doesn't seem to be a very appealing setup visually.    I mean a rink is a rink, but in some of the malls in the USA that have rinks, they tend to be open, so people can look in and you can look out.  It is almost a show piece. 

 

Harbor isn't a mall in the USA and people are looking in and out.

[JSixpack]

1 hour ago, gk10002000 said:

Now if they would invest a few billion baht and do a modern reliable sewage and garbage system for the city so that one could actually swim I the Gulf water, they might get a tourist destination with families and lots of kids and lots of repeat business.  Or really push the expat retiree or living long time due to marriage, work, etc market. 

 

The rink doesn't require a few billion baht invested in a modern reliable sewage and garbage system. The toilets at Harbor are working just fine; you'll find no garbage strewn about on the ice or indeed throughout the mall. As it is an ice skating rink, rather than a beach, no one expects to find any Gulf waters for swimming there. The rink seems to be attracting sufficient kids and families so far for its size; it's much too early for worry, phony hand wringing, and doom predictions. Moreover, the ice skating rink isn't meant to appeal to expat retirees in particular and will never be trying to squeeze blood from those old turnips. It's mainly and appropriately marketed to Thais; hence the details on the signage have been in Thai only. You seem to have mistaken this topic for one of our monthly DYING PATTATA flapdoodle topics. 

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by JSixpack

[gk10002000]

21 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

The rink doesn't require a few billion baht invested in a modern reliable sewage and garbage system. The toilets at Harbor are working just fine; you'll find no garbage strewn about on the ice or indeed throughout the mall. As it is an ice skating rink, rather than a beach, no one expects to find any Gulf waters for swimming there. The rink seems to be attracting sufficient kids and families so far for its size; it's much too early for worry, phony hand wringing, and doom predictions. Moreover, the ice skating rink isn't meant to appeal to expat retirees in particular and will never be trying to squeeze blood from those old turnips. It's mainly and appropriately marketed to Thais; hence the details on the signage have been in Thai only. You seem to have mistaken this topic for one of our monthly DYING PATTATA flapdoodle topics. 

 

I wasn't referring to garbage or septic in the mall, I meant for Pattaya overall.  make the darn city more attractive to go, then more people will vacation there with families and these other activities such as an ice rink will likely get more business

[champers]

Some of the advertising alludes to ice hockey. Great new sport for children who aren't into ice dancing. Though this  rink will be popular with Thais, there is also no shortage of young Russians who could already be proficient on the ice.

In due course, it would be good to see tournaments not unlike some of those at Jomtien beach for football and volleyball. Senseless violence on the ice would be an added bonus.

.

[JSixpack]

17 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

I wasn't referring to garbage or septic in the mall, I meant for Pattaya overall.  make the darn city more attractive to go, then more people will vacation there with families and these other activities such as an ice rink will likely get more business

 

But there's no reason yet to think that the rink is hurting for business or is even aware of the TVF Poster Only Farangs Have Money rule as it's only marketing to Thais. Pattaya is already packed on weekends and holidays w/ Thai tou--well, TAT: TVF won't allow Thais to be called tourists, as adding to the tourist numbers would contradict the DYING narrative; er, non-local Thais. And that number is likely to grow w/ the opening of Terminal 21 and the tunnels. (The Pattaya Klang tunnel opening will be positive for Harbor, obviously.) More Thais are buying condos. Thais have always been swimming in the Gulf; in fact I saw quite a few foreign tourists doing so this past high season.

 

Whether a more sanitized Pattaya would mean a significantly greater number of foreign ice skaters on that small rink is unknown, actually. Not that the rink is even marketing to them. But how many additional tickets would need to be sold to break even with "a few billion baht" invested in more infrastructure? Let's say 3 billion / 280 per ticket = 3,571,428 additional tickets. Now, even our most distinguished ace TVF barstool economists would agree that's not going to happen and wouldn't be worth it. Of course it's easy to spend other people's money while you reap the benefits, so how about if the gov't raised visa and other fees, account minimums,  and imposed extra taxes on foreigners such as yourself to help pay for the new investment? You game?

 

[balo]

We did speed skating in Norway when I was a kid, on frozen lakes.  

 

Now maybe is the time to show Thais how to do it.  If I can find a pair of skating shoes big enough for my feet  .

 

 

 

 

[champers]

Plenty of Scandis, Canucks, Yanks and Dutch around for the speed skating. I believe the Koreans and Japanese are no slouches either.

[stravers]

Visited the rink again on the weekend. Good afternoon crowd. The staff were giving lessons to the toddlers. I'm sure the boards will have ads as popularity grows. The ice resurfacing is worrisome although I doubt that would stop anyone.