The Duluth Ice Forum

I have been twice and each time I forget that the parking lot… has no lights. There are light poles, but do not work.
It seemed fairly priced for skates. The second time the rink temperature felt much colder, definitely bring some kind of hat/​toboggan, and gloves. The skates were okay. It’s a busy area during the weekends, as one would expect.
There is a bar upstairs that looks over the other rink, where hockey teams play/​practice. I don’t know why it doesn’t over-​look both rinks.
Fro those looking for a fun evening, it’s a fun time. The main downfall is the parking lot… NO lighting.

This place is very fun and good for weekends with friends. The parking lot are usually full on Saturday.

Awesome facility staff is friendly and helpful. very easy to get to know the staff I’ve been in ice rinks since i was 3 years old and this is about as family as it gets. they actually care about clients come by and try a public session

It’s a damned shame that the professional hockey team in Atlanta decided to bolt and go wherever the hell they went.
Why do I care? Because this was the facility that was built for them, to practice. A place that used to be so vibrant and loaded with ice lovers, just looked like a ghost town to me (maybe it’s the summer, I have no idea). But the last time I went here– I came to see a friend play hockey. I was pretty disappointed how empty this place was on a Saturday night. Hell, I didn’t even see a staff member the entire time– and I was there for 2 hours!
Maybe it’s a dying breed. Maybe ATL is recovering from the stab wounds still, not sure. Either way, I would like to see this place return to its former glory.
PS– get some new arcade games.

I can see why a lot of people rate this place 2 or 3 stars, especially if they’re an ice skating, figure skating, or hockey enthusiast. I am none of those and have only been to the Duluth Ice Forum for their public skating sessions, when the rink is not reserved for another activity. When compared to seasonal, more «touristy» (not sure if that’s the appropriate word to use here) ice skating rinks around town, like the ones at Centennial Park and Park Tavern, the Ice Forum is way better because it’s much bigger and the ice is well-​maintained.
The Ice Forum is a practice facility for the Gwinnett Gladiators and was previously used by the Atlanta Thrashers. There are two rinks inside the facility and they are both regulation size. It’s immediately apparent as soon as you step on the ice, how much slicker it is at the Ice Forum when compared to the rinks at the parks. Whereas the park ice rinks have all sorts of groove marks in them, the ice at the Ice Forum is regularly resurfaced by a Zamboni (
). That difference alone makes the Ice Forum superior to the other places.
In my experience, rental ice skates, no matter where they’re from, do not fit comfortably. In comparison to other rinks, the skates at the Ice Forum «fit» the best. My feet and ankles were not as sore after skating in them when compared to the skates at the other rinks. As Amanda D. pointed out in her review, the Ice Forum does not carry half sizes, so you may not find the perfect fit.
Skate rental is $ 3 and admission to the ice rink is $ 7. The public sessions last 1.5 to 2.5 hours and a schedule of the days and times of the sessions can be found on the Ice Forum’s web site (
). $ 10 for two hours of ice skating is not bad.
The ice rink is indoors, well-​lit, and there is a DJ that plays music during the public sessions. When you want to take a break, you can sit on the bleachers or go into the café where they have food and drink for you to purchase. A lot of parents like to hang out in this area. The times I’ve been, the Ice Forum has never been too crowded, which is a good thing.

I was reading some of the reviews and what can I say people are entitled to their own misguided opinions.
My only complaint is that in the Youth Hockey Programs the travel teams are treated like gods and the house league kids/​parents are under appreciated and under valued.
But whatever, that only speaks to the youth hockey, and hopefully they’ll get their shit together and realize that everyone that spends the kind of money you need to play hockey at any level is a valued customer.
That is the only thing that kept me from giving Ice Forum 5 stars — and it is the only blemish, in my opinion.
Having two, of my four, boys that learned how to skate there and having played in leagues myself I have to say that the rink has a special place in my heart.
After moving to Los Angeles and playing at several rinks out here I definitely have gained an appreciation for the Ice Forum.
When I played hockey in Duluth the adult league did an amazing job of regulating sand baggers or ringers. Out here I play in two leagues and neither rink cares; if a team pays their dues up front apparently ringers are okay.
I’ve only found one rink that comes close to the facilities that the Ice Forum (Duluth) had, in terms of quality. And nothing compares to the Break Away Grill!
I really miss the sense of community with the hockey players out in the ATL.
As for public skating and skate rentals. Well yeah rental skates suck. You’re renting shoes that a thousand other people have worn. What’d you honestly expect? They’re like bowling shows with blades! And having seen dozens of ignorant morons walking on the metal bleachers scraping the blades on any piece of metal they can find yeah it stands to reason they will be dull. Um, that’s what happens.
If you want good skates then buy a pair, they’re not that expensive depending on what you get.
I’ll admit they should always have skating guards out on the ice, but there is never a shortage of employees to complain to. And they are responsive, especially if you approach them nicely — it is the South and decorum goes a long way.
And usually if there is a skating class the instructors will correct negative behavior.
But as for the cross over queen, Adele, I’m sorry your daughter didn’t get the center ice to herself. I don’t remember any law requiring that figure skaters get special treatment… Trust me some of the rudest skaters on the ice are preteen figure skaters that feel entitled to the entire rink and give you complete attitude for getting in their way. As for the view from the bleachers it’s just fine, why don’t you get off the cell for awhile and if you really want involvement in your child’s skating get off your fat lazy ass and join her on the ice.

Nothing stellar, but I’d go back again.
The only rink I can compare this to is the one they have each year in Centennial Olympic Park, which isn’t very impressive.
The skates I had were in rough shape, but at least they were the lace up kind. I can’t use the kind with buckle closures. Just like any type of rental shoe, I don’t expect them to fit well. When we left, I noticed that they don’t spray the skates with disinfectant… EWH! So I may have to take my own can of Lysol with me next time.
I went on a Sunday afternoon and there was a boy scout troop there. Joy! There was one kid that I’m pretty sure skated the wrong direction the whole 2 hours, and there was no staff on the ice to keep an eye on everyone.
The rink was busy, but not so much that you couldn’t get around. There were a couple of close calls with kids not paying attention, and small children on the ice.
Also, they do bring the zamboni out to resurface the ice after an hour of sakating. The ice was great compared to the rink in COP.

I’ve never been ice skating so I have nothing to compare this place to. It gets packed with skaters of all ages and all levels of experience. It’s fine for me since I’m a beginner. I went on a Sunday during open skate (2 – 4) and I think there was a kids birthday party. It was packed with little ones. Then I went on a Friday night and there were less people. There were more high schoolers that night and many rowdy careless boys that I felt would knock me over if I got in their way. The skates — like all rental shoes — stink to the high heaven and it smells like a locker room out in the skate rental area. After an hour of open skate they Cambodia the ice cuz it gets really bad. Other than that I will return… today in fact!

I want to start this off by saying rental ice skates are absolute crap. If you wear a half size, and you don’t have perfectly shaped feet (not too flat, not too arched) you are probably screwed. You may luck out, like I did just once, and get a size that fits. Or you can almost fall over just trying to walk to the ice, despite having the skates be super tight. They do NOT have half sizes and it sucks. Also, know your men’s size, ladies. If you go up and say 7, you will have the equivalent of a women’s 9.5 or so.
If you really want to ice skate, I’d say look into a pair of used skates… these are just… let’s just say while trying to think of a way to describe them, my immediate reaction was to shake my head.
I was kind of relieved I couldn’t even skate. It looked chaotic out there. I barely get how to skate still so I would have been fallen by the end. Like previous comments the ice does look kind of sketchy. For all that goes on, I don’t think they stop to clear it at all at any point.
On another note, the Thrashers’ practice rink is not this one. It is to the left, through the doors next to the restaurant. It looks much nicer, and I guess it’s better taken care of because I’ve never seen one of them wipe out. It was kind of depressing to see the Gladiators practicing on that public skate rink with all their equipment bags just laying out in the area. I would assume most hockey is played on this rink, seeing as it’s in the picture posted here.
So: non-​public free skate rink is obviously nice, rental skates are gross, and Thrashers practices are fun to watch… check out the schedule, they are free to watch and then you can watch three of them drive away in a Maserati and laugh. The schedule updates monthly and they tend to stick to it:
#Yelp365 — ²⁴⁄₃₆₅

I have been to several ice rinks in my day. I used to figure skate and I have two brothers who grew up playing hockey. Needless to say I spent a good 5 years of my life with the rink as my second home. I have seen some of the best and worst rinks out there. When I moved to GA I knew that ice sports wouldn’t be that big of a deal down here but with three rink options in the area it’s not too shabby.
I went to this rink when it first opened right after moving here. It used to be nice but now it’s run down. Some areas definitely need some updating — like the restrooms. I expected it to be better maintained since it serves as the practice facility for both the Gwinnett Gladiators and Atlanta Thrashers. Anyway, the public skate session I went to on Sunday was quite chaotic and to be honest, a little bit dangerous. I’m used to public skating sessions where there are employees skating around actually paying attention to the patrons. Not at this place. At one point a little boy fell, hitting his head and the skate patrol or whatever just kept skating by him. One of the other patrons had to help get him off the ice. That’s just totally unacceptable in my opinion. The employees also didn’t do anything to enforce skating courtesy. They just let everyone do whatever the heck they wanted. With all kinds of little kids and people just being crazy it makes for a dangerous environment. Also, they need to clear the ice more frequently… the ice was for shit and there were giant puddles of water at both ends were the hockey goals would be.
Anyway, I love skating so I’m going to try and go back Friday night for another public session. I’m hoping there won’t be as many people, especially not so many out of control kids. As of right now I definitely prefer the Ice Forum in Kennesaw as its not as crazy during public skate.

«Saturday Night’s Alright»
For some reason, I heard Elton in my head when I walked into the Ice Forum. Don’t ask me why. .. maybe it was just kind of the retro feeling of the place, the old kind of roller skate/​ice skate birthday party kind of smell-​and-​feel of the place…who knows. Anyway, last night was a totally cool (ha, no pun intended, since ice was involved!) kind of night.
My good friend’s boyfriend plays in an amateur league and they had a game up at the Ice Forum. She needed a wing woman, and I have decided to branch out and try things out of my normal routine this year, so I found myself OTP and having quite a good time watching grown men gliding around the rink battling it out quite handily, while we caught up on gossip and enjoyed a few cocktails! We put in our time on the bleachers — note: it is very chilly rinkside so take extra layers if you plan to stay down there very long — and then enjoyed the bulk of the game from our birdseye view up in the bar/​grill.
While we got some side-​eyes as we walked in — let’s just say that Buckhead girls like us didn’t really, um, blend seamlessly right away — we made friends with staff and other fans and enjoyed a lovely night.
I didn’t grow up with hockey, but I do enjoy watching it. And the boys were happy since the tying/​losing team (ours) still got a «free pitcher-​and-​a-​half-​ish» of beer, so we all got to hang out for awhile amicably after the game.
The bartender even makes a pretty tasty lemon drop martini, according to my friend. We can both vouch for their tasty fries. Apparently, there IS fun to be had in Duluth, after all!

We were visiting relatives in Atlanta this February when my daughter decided she wanted to go skating.
I’m sorry, I have never seen such a sorry, disorganized rink in my life.
There were no employees on the ice to keep things safe, you know, to direct people? People were skating all over the ice and in the wrong direction of traffic. At every rink I’ve been at, there are cones set up to prevent skaters from entering the center ice, which is where the serious skaters practice. My kid want to practice her backwards crossovers and couldn’t because rude skaters were knocking her down!
The rental skates were horrendous… garbagey plastic things, not even with a lining of some kind, just injection molded blue plastic, and the blades hadn’t been sharpened since Christ died. Even at the busiest rinks in IL, I haven’t seen rental skates this shoddy.
The «bleachers» if you could call them that, were like what you’d see at the little league baseball diamond… three or four rows of aluminum seating, even at the highest point, you’re almost level with the ice and can’t really see the skaters… which, if my kid is skating in a crappy rink in another state and people are knocking her down, damn it, I want to be able to see her and the schmuck who knocks her down, so I can shove my foot up his ass when he gets off the ice.
And this is supposed to be the practice rink of the Thrashers? This place REALLY sucks and needs a major rehab.