The Northtown Center at Amherst

Sorry in advance for this horrible and useless review…
This week I was here a lot while babysitting my cousins. On Sunday there was a hockey game for Jack who is 6 and on Tuesday there was figure skating practice for Caroline who is 8. I was a spectator for both
Hockey — this was so cute! The split the Olympic rink in half and have 2 games going. This is to help move it along and make it easier for the kids. The coaches seem great! They helped whenever a kid fell down (which happens a lot) every 3 minutes a buzzer would go off and the team would all switch positions. Everyone had a chance at offense, defense, and goalie. I felt that the game went a little long and by the end, every kid looked exhausted.
Figure Skating — I couldn’t believe how many kids were here! Caroline told me there were only 5 in her class. I learned that all the kids warm up, and then split into different classes. Watching Caroline’s class was impressive! They were learning spins. The teacher was helpful and would hold the hands of each student while she was spinning. I think also, older students help the younger students. The class was about 50 minutes long.
The arena is huge and very clean. My only complaint is how freezing cold the arena is. I was glad I brought my winter jacket.

The facility itself is huge (3 regulation sized rinks and one Olympic rink) and clean. There are food offerings via the stand downstairs, tempting young children and tired parents with standard pizza, popcorn and pretzels as well as a more involved restaurant on the upper floor. They hold open skating hours regularly, though you will want to check the calendar, because the times change. For residents of the area, skating is $ 3 and skate rentals are also $ 3. They are very strict about having a residency card and not just a license– but you are in luck if you don’t have one, because the Parks & Rec office is actually on site. This place is a pretty cheap outing for us, and the kids usually end up exhausted.
The Learn to Skate program here is 5 stars. Why? Because they failed my kid. She is a beginner skater, who at first spent much of her time marching across the ice rather than skating. This had not improved much after the first 10 week session. Rather than give her a gold star and a pass, as I think many youth programs tend to do, they suggested she repeat the level. This was not welcome news to my child at first, but rather than quit, she took it far more seriously the second time and now can skate 100% better and appreciates what they are trying to teach her. She would have been lost had they advanced her, and probably would have quit. Now it is her favorite thing in the world, at least for the moment!

Robbie in the pro shop does a good job with skates. I have been using him for sharpenings and skate repairs (a few rivets) for the past year with no complaints.

As far as ice skating rinks go this place is amazing! There are three NHL sized rinks and one Olympic sized one. The facilities are very modern and there is always something going on here. Lots of sticky kids running around but they usually are in the fast food court or in one of the open skate rinks. Er… I mean, this is a very kid friendly place and there is open skating here as well and student pricing for skate sessions. There is a full service restaurant on the second floor and overlooks a rink. The location is pretty convenient too since it’s across the street from the UB North Campus.
The Northtown Center houses a full service restaurant, pro shop, two skyboxes multiple meeting rooms and a training facility. They are the home of Amherst Youth Hockey, featured sports include Ice Hockey, Roller Hockey and Figure Skating.
I went to a USA vs. Canada Sled Hockey Tournament here in February and it was fun to see the game in action. Despite having dated an avid adult recreational hockey fanatic for years-​and being dragged to too many ice rinks ;) — I had never heard of SLED HOCKEY till I saw the game hosted at Northtown Center. Seriously though, if you get a chance check out a sled hockey game.