Snoopy’s Home Ice reopens in Santa Rosa after 6-month closure for repairs

Jackie Gossage and her 10-year-old granddaughter, Lauren Evans, visited Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa each ? Tuesday the last couple of months to see if they could ice skate. When they realized they couldn’t, they would eat lunch at the Warm Puppy Cafe next to the closed rink - until Saturday, when it reopened to the public. Gossage took Evans there Tuesday to skate with her friend.

“We’re so excited,” Gossage said. “It’s a great place.”

The rink on West Steele Lane in Santa Rosa, which is operated by the family of the late Charles M. Schulz, was closed since May for about $1 million of repairs. Everything under the ice - including the pipes and cement - was replaced for the first time since the rink opened 50 years ago, said Gina Huntsinger, the rink’s general manager.

Gossage was a kid when the rink originally opened. She used to skate there with her siblings, and later took her own children.

“I get a big kick out of being able to share something I did when I was a kid,” she said of bringing her granddaughter to the rink.

Schulz, cartoonist and creator of the comic strip “Peanuts,” opened Snoopy’s Home Ice when the Santa Rosa Ice Arena on Summerfield Road closed because of structural issues, leaving the city without a skating rink. Over the years, many famous athletes and celebrities have visited the rink, including Billie Jean King, Tony Hawk and David Letterman.

Huntsinger said the rink is a staple in the community - a place for people to hang out and feel at home. She said management decided to make the repairs on the rink so people could continue using it for another 50 years.

Evans’ friend Neida Tuaun said she could picture the two of them still coming to the rink when in high school - but by then, they’d be better at skating, she said with a smile.

The rink’s management wanted to make sure that Snoopy’s Home Ice would reopen for the holidays, Huntsinger said. Employees organize multiple events, including a tree lighting ceremony Dec. 6. The tree stays on the ice throughout the holiday season.

“It is a tradition for people to come,” Huntsinger said. “It’s really magical. California is not really known for its magical winters, (but) it is in here.”

The rink will have its grand reopening Sunday at noon. Snoopy will cut the ribbon for the celebration, and skating will be free for kids under 12.

Since the rink reopened last weekend, Huntsinger said it’s been busy.

“We’re thrilled to see every single person,” she said. “I feel like the mom whose kids have come back home.”

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.