DES MOINES, Iowa — Brenton Skating Plaza in Des Moines is opening Thursday, November 30th.

Anthony Leo, the Recreation Supervisor at Brenton Skating Plaza, said that the plaza needs consistent cold weather in order to open.

The plaza faced two delays in the season opening due to warmer weather.

“My staff is about 30 people. Rink guards and cashiers, then I work with my contractors to set up a date and time to get the ice installed. We need about three days of weather 45 degrees or lower. Once we find that window we’ll fire up the pumps down in the compression room and get building,” Leo said.

It’s not just Brenton Skating Plaza that is adapting to the warm fall season. Seven Oaks Recreation in Boone is scheduled to open on December 1st.

Joel Bryan, the owner, said that a later start to the season due to warm weather can cause trouble finding employees.

“Our most difficult challenge would be if we hire everyone early say mid-Thanksgiving and all of a sudden we don’t get open until say the second weekend of December. A lot of those people will find different jobs because they’re looking for a job right then. But we just did all of our training this week, we’ve got about 120 seasonal staff on board and the timing is almost perfect this year,” Bryan said.

For news on Brenton Skating Plaza prices and programming available to the public visit the plaza’s website.