Pittsfield Council Accepts $200K for Outdoor Ice Rink

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Public, outdoor ice skating will return to the city this winter. 

On Tuesday, the City Council accepted a total of $200,000 from five local organizations for a portable ice rink system at Clapp Park. The $250,000 project reimagines ice skating memories at The Common in the age of global warming. 

Officials hope to have it operational by the holiday season. 

"The whole idea behind the project is that climate change has really made it very difficult for us to establish and maintain an ice sheet in the traditional way, like we've done for many, many years at The Common. Those days are over," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained. 

"What we've landed on is this idea of a temporary ice rink that can be brought in, and it's powered by chillers. It's essentially a refrigerated system that will help maintain consistent ice throughout a number of months. It's a very expensive system. It's on the order of $200,000." 

Alex Regen, co-director of the effort, brought the idea to Mayor Peter Marchetti shortly after he was elected and agreed to seek outside funding for the 50-by-100-foot rink. 

• The Feigenbaum Foundation: $125,000, 
• The Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust: $50,000
• Milltown Foundation: $10,000
• Berkshire Bank Foundation: $10,000
• Pittsfield Cooperative Bank: $5,000

In grant letters, donors praised the idea of a fun wintertime activity 

"We believe this initiative will bring meaningful community benefit by creating a welcoming, active space that promotes health, connection, and vibrancy during the winter months," Program Director Andy Wrba wrote on behalf of Mill Town Foundation. 

Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey praised McGrath and Regen's work, saying, "obviously, this is awesome," and an idea that is hard not to support. 

"I look forward to one skating and then hopefully expanding more winter projects at the park too. I mean, think about it, you can go sledding, you can go skating. We can do a winter carnival," he said. 

"A lot of ideas." 

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.