WISNER - A Northeast Nebraska small town is taking advantage of the winter weather to try to attract visitors from out of town.
The City of Wisner recently opened up a skating rink at the tennis courts in their city park. City officials say the rink - which is the only rink within an almost 50-mile radius - is part of an overall plan to improve the park.
“We have been trying to work with Central Park here and with River Park a quarter mile down the road to do some upgrades in terms of playground equipment and other amenities,” said Wisner City Administrator Al Vacanti. “The cost was good enough for the City Council to be in a position to say yes.”
Vacanti says it can serve as a nice, unique attraction for the Cuming County town of almost 1200 people.
“We hope that it will bring people to our town,” Vacanti said. “We think people will say ‘Let’s go up there and spend a couple of hours and then spend some time looking around.’"
The rink is made of portable materials, and was unveiled at an open house on Sunday. Vacanti says the turnout was solid, and he expects the rink to become more popular in future seasons as word of mouth grows.
“I think by this time next year kids are going to have skates on their wish lists for Christmas,” said Vacanti. “I think it’s going to get a lot of use.”
The rink is open to the public 24/7 as long as it’s frozen.
