By Colleen Jurkiewicz OnMilwaukee.com Reporter Published Dec 04, 2012 at 5:30 AM

Due to unseasonably warm temperatures and last night's heavy rain, the opening of Red Arrow Park's Slice of Ice skating rink has been delayed indefinitely.

"As of last night with the heavy downpour we had, we lost the ice, so we cannot do our grand opening as planned," Emily Heller of Milwaukee County Parks told OnMilwaukee.com. "It’s just being postponed till further notice, until we get a base layer back down. I would imagine is soon as we can do it we’ll get it done, so probably next week."

When the rink opens, ice skate rentals will be $8 a pair for adults and $7 for skaters aged 17 and under. Skaters who bring their own blades skate for free, and sharpening services are available for $6. Group rates are also available.

Located at 920 N. Water St., the 128-by-95-foot ice rink can accommodate up to 100 skaters. There is a Starbucks located on-site, along with a skate window selling soda, beer, candy and snacks. New this year will be a $5 photo booth in the warming house.

The Slice of Ice will stay open into 2013 for as long as the weather permits. The rink will be closed if there is a winter weather advisory. See the website for special extended hours during the week of Christmas.

The 2011-2012 season saw record attendance at Slice of Ice, with over 30,000 skaters gliding through the gates over the course of three months. The season ended on March 10, 2012 but has been known to go farther into March, depending on the weather.

The plot of land upon which Red Arrow Park not sits was acquired by Milwaukee County in 1916 but the original Red Arrow Park was lost due to freeway construction. It reopened in 1969; 30 years later the park underwent a redesign facilitated by both private and public funding. Part of the 1999 renovation included what is now the Slice of Ice skating rink.

Colleen Jurkiewicz OnMilwaukee.com Reporter

Colleen Jurkiewicz is a Milwaukee native with a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and she loves having a job where she learns something new about the Cream City every day. Her previous incarnations have included stints as a waitress, a barista, a writing tutor, a medical transcriptionist, a freelance journalist, and now this lovely gig at the best online magazine in Milwaukee.