On Second Thought: Ice Castles Won’t Be In Stillwater This Winter, Heading For New Minnesota Home
Despite their recently-approved permit to set up shop once again in Stillwater after a year in Excelsior, the Minnesota Ice Castles will be in a completely different town for the 2020 season.
The Minnesota Ice Castles had called Stillwater home for the winters of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 before being forced to move due to construction on the Stillwater Lift Bridge, which is right next to the park where the attraction was set up. During that construction last winter, the Ice Castles headed to the west-metro suburb of Excelsior. With construction completed on the bridge, the organization behind the ice castles submitted an application for a permit to once again take up residence in Lowell Park and all seemed set. Turns out there's been a change.
About a month after Stillwater's permit approval, parent organization Ice Castles LLC tweeted (November 1) that the Minnesota Ice Castles would be moving to Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton.
So, why the move? KSTP TV in the Twin Cities explained that Ice Castles LLC began looking for a new location due to concerns over high water levels on the St. Croix River. KSTP reports that Lake Elmo was in the running as a new location, but the final decision to move to New Brighton was made and announced at the beginning of November.
This will mark the first time the Minnesota Ice Castles will be in the northern suburbs, making them a touch more accessible to people from the Twin Ports heading down to see check them out. In the duration of Ice Castles LLC having a presence in Minnesota, they have been hosted in Eden Prairie, at the Mall of America, twice in Stillwater, and in Excelsior last year.
The 2019/2020 Minnesota Ice Castles are expected to open sometime in January, contingent on weather. Construction was set to begin sometime in November. With colder than normal temperatures kicking off the month, this may help the timeline of the ice castles open as early as possible.