Memorial City Ice Rink to close in 2026, shocking local families

Families who have built routines around Memorial City Ice Rink will lose one of West Houston’s few year-round skating homes when it closes on July 31, a change that could send hockey players and figure skaters to Sugar Land and other farther-away ice and add both drive time and costs.

MetroNational said the shutdown is tied to relocation and construction at the mall’s main entrance. The company said it will not be possible to keep the ice at the required conditions once that work begins. The rink had already been closed in January after an ammonia leak at Memorial City Mall forced an evacuation and an operational assessment, a reminder that the closure follows both infrastructure and safety concerns.

For more than two decades, the rink has been inside Memorial City Mall, a place many West Houston families treated as a central practice site rather than just another entertainment stop. Coaches and parents described it as a home base for youth hockey, figure skating, free skate sessions and birthday parties. The loss hits especially hard because there are so few year-round ice options in the Houston region, and Discovery Green’s downtown rink is only seasonal and outdoors.

The pressure to save the rink quickly became visible online. A Change.org petition to keep it open drew more than 3,000 signatures, and it pointed to an earlier 2023 petition that gathered more than 1,000 more. That level of response shows how deeply the rink is woven into the local skating scene, where families already juggle expensive gear, lesson fees and limited ice time.

The closure also underscores a bigger shift inside Memorial City itself. MetroNational describes the property as a 1.7-million-square-foot super-regional mall with more than 150 stores and restaurants, part of a 300-acre mixed-use district linked by skywalks. The rink is listed as an NHL-sized attraction, but the broader redevelopment around Memorial City Place at 9821 Katy Freeway shows how mall economics are changing as property owners rework entrances, office space and circulation patterns.

ABC13 reported that usable equipment from the rink will be donated to other ice rinks and community organizations, and there are no plans to reopen after July 31. For West Houston skaters, the practical result is simple: more miles, more expense and a smaller map of places to skate.