'Round the oval; Make the skating worth the wait.

• Position: EDITORIAL - Editorial

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

Cities need cool things to do, and for our money, $2 outdoor ice skating fills the bill.

After a wait and some doubts, the oval on Worcester Common will be in business for its intended purpose this winter.

The public rink will open Friday, Nov. 30, kicking off a winter of weekend skating. The rink opening will be in conjunction with the city's annual Festival of Lights holiday ceremony.

Skates will be available for rental, concessions will be sold, and admission will be a reasonable couple of bucks.

The lighted rink will have music, and is actually bigger than the famous ice skating rink in New York City's Rockefeller Center.

A partnership between Worcester and corporate sponsors is making the skating finally happen, three years after the "event oval" was constructed as part of a rehab of the city's Common. The lead sponsor is Fallon Community Health Plan; others who have generously signed on include Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Polar Beverages, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, UNUM, Clark University, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, Bay State Savings...