Frank Southern Center/Ice Arena

It’s the only place in Bloomington to go ice skating. I’ve been here on both a Friday night and Sunday afternoon and I will say, if you want to beat the crowds, go to the open skate on Sundays from 3 –5. Friday night (7 – 9) was fun, but it does get crowded.
Unfortunately, you can’t really hear the music, so if you’re a good skater, bring your earbuds. You do need to be careful of folks skating all over the place and winding in and out — and unfortunately the folks out on the ice in the yellow vests don’t really pay too much attention to the kids cutting people off and making some poor decisions.
It’s still a good time and the folks who work there are friendly. The pro shop has laces and they’ll sharpen your skates for you for a few dollars.

My family went to go ice skating here. The ice was really rough, and hard for amateur skaters, and most of us were first-​time ice skaters. When they want you to get off the ice, they blare the loudest horn. It’s the hockey goal horn, but it is completely unexpected. It startled the crap out of us, and two of us fell down, and our youngest sister fell forward and dislocated her knee, so the last thing we did in the night was help her out of the facility.
How about, I don’t know, turning off the music when you want people to leave? Or just telling us! Or anything that doesn’t scare people and cause injuries. It was a shitty way to end the night, and if you want people to get off the ice do so without risking a lawsuit. Will probably not ice skate again, anywhere.

What can I say? It’s the only game in town! It’s only open from September until March and they offer tons of youth hockey opportunities through the Parks and Rec department. It’s also a cool ‘hangout’ spot if you’re 13 yrs old (or younger). Ample parking and a decent snack bar. I’ve also held a birthday party or two here and find it to be comparable in price and amenities to places like the roller skating rink or bowling alley. There’s nothing super fancy about it but the staff is friendly and the youth programs are the bomb!