After two decades in business, the Sherwood Ice Arena in the Oregon city of the same name has closed permanently, citing Covid-19 restrictions on indoor entertainment centers.
Owner Roy MacMillan told Oregon Live that he was informed by the state on Dec. 17 that he would face $70,000 per day fines if he didn’t close the ice rink. Gov. Kate Brown has required that indoor entertainment centers like ice rinks – in counties labeled as “extreme risk” for Covid – remain closed since mid-November.
In an effort to keep it from closing permanently, the local city council president Tim Rosener sent a letter to Brown’s office requesting that the rink be allowed to reopen – attaching public comments that expressed that sentiment.
The business was closed from March through October, and again starting in mid-November. During the brief time they were reopened, MacMillan said the ice rink implemented stringent Covid-19 safety procedures and even set up a contact tracing system.