The holiday rink at the Promenade Shops at Centerra has always opened on raised platforms that people had to walk around. That setup is gone now. Galway Companies, the Wisconsin firm that owns the center, has torn out the old rink and is building what Steve Doran, its founding principal, described to the Loveland Reporter-Herald as "a new landscaped area that is multipurpose" for use in both summer and winter.
Last season, the rink opened November 21, 2025, ran daily hours through January 4, 2026, and then kept Friday-through-Sunday hours through January 26. The rebuilt version is scheduled to open in late November 2026, according to Galway's October 6 announcement. So the timing hasn't moved much. The design is what changed, and the change is aimed at the people who aren't on the ice.
Who the new rink is designed for
Doran explained the redesign to the Reporter-Herald in terms of the people who come along with the skaters. The goal, he said, is "a nice open space with fire pits" where visitors can shop around and "view their children and their grandchildren skate much easier than they can right now."
"One of our biggest endeavors is the ice rink."
Steve Doran, Galway Companies, in the Loveland Reporter-Herald
Most families at a holiday rink have one or two people skating and several more waiting at the edge with coats and cocoa. The old platforms made that wait awkward. The new plan puts fire pits and open ground around the ice, and the space keeps working in July. On its What's New page, the Promenade calls it a "redesigned rink and surrounding plaza created for skating, gathering and making new memories."
The rink is the center of a bigger rebuild
The rink matters this much because Galway is treating the whole 494,500-square-foot open-air center as a long-term project. Galway bought the Promenade in August 2025 for $55 million, its first investment in Colorado. Galway's figures put the center at about 3.8 million visits a year, or more than 70,000 a week.
You can already see the work if you've been out there lately:
- Storefronts: Famous Footwear was the first shop to get a new facade. Doran's description of the problem was blunt: "Everything's beige." The plan gives each tenant its own look.
- Roofs: Ten buildings are getting new roofs, Dick's Sporting Goods among them.
- Walkways: More outdoor seating, refreshed gathering spaces, Wi-Fi across the property, new landscaping and lighting, plus a new monument sign along Interstate 25.
- New tenants: Christopher & Banks and Windsor are open now, and MINISO is listed as coming soon.
More tenants are planned for spring 2027: JD Sports, Hot Topic, BoxLunch, Cabinet IQ, Hot Pot & Grill and Los Dos Potrillos. BizWest reported that Los Dos Potrillos, run by Ramirez Hospitality Group, plans its first Loveland location at 6015 Sky Pond Drive.
Fire pits, seating and Wi-Fi all point the same way. They give people reasons to stay longer between stops, and the rink is the clearest example.
The season lights up before the ice is in
You won't have to wait for the rink to start the holidays at Centerra. 2026 is Centerra's 25th anniversary, which makes this its 25th holiday season, and Centerra's holiday page sets the opening night for about two weeks after this post goes up.
Flip the Switch Ceremony. Friday, November 13, 5 to 7 p.m., at Chapungu Sculpture Park. That year's Light of the Community honoree turns the lights on, with carolers, cocoa and a giant snow-globe photo op.
All Is Bright Tour. Daily from November 13 through January 1. It starts at Chapungu with Centerra's signature display, then continues past decorated homes and businesses across Centerra, with cocoa stations along the way at a dollar a cup.
Chapungu has history as a holiday spot. Winter Wonderlights, the festival Visit Loveland ran there for eight years, did not come back for the 2025 season, according to Visit Loveland. Centerra's own display now holds that spot in the sculpture park. It's free to walk, and you can tie it in with a stop at the Promenade. Nightly viewing hours for 2026 haven't been posted yet.
On Saturday, December 5, Visit Loveland hosts Santa's Workshop at the Loveland Visitor Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Loveland vendors, Santa photos, an alpine slide and roasted s'mores.
December 12 brings it all together
The rink is supposed to open in late November. By mid-December the calendar puts the most activity around the ice, and nearly all of it is the kind you can enjoy from the edge. Saturday, December 12 is the busiest day of the season:
- 8:30 to 10 a.m. Breakfast with Santa at the Promenade Shops. This one is ticketed.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photos with Santa at the Promenade.
- 1 to 3 p.m. Skating with Buddy and Jovie from "Elf" at the Promenade.
- 4 to 5:30 p.m. The Sleigh Bell Shuffle, a one-mile loop around Chapungu Sculpture Park in Santa hats, reindeer antlers or whatever holiday gear you've got.
The character skate is where the new layout gets tested. A couple of costumed characters on the ice draw a crowd of kids. For every child who laces up skates, there will probably be a parent or grandparent standing nearby, and that's exactly the person Doran described the fire pits and open space for.
Saturday, December 19 repeats the morning schedule, with Breakfast with Santa and photos at the same times. The afternoon skate switches to Anna and Elsa from "Frozen," 1 to 3 p.m. Santa's reindeer arrive before either Saturday. The Reindeer Visit is Friday, December 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Promenade.
Between those two Saturdays, on Thursday, December 17, Kinston Hub hosts Holiday Music Bingo and an Ugly Sweater Party from 6 to 8 p.m. Bingo winners and the ugliest sweater both get prizes.
What's set and what's still open
As of late October, here's where things stand:
- Set: Every event date and time above, from Flip the Switch on November 13 through the Anna and Elsa skate on December 19, plus the All Is Bright Tour running through January 1.
- Set: The rink design, with fire pits and open space in place of the old platforms.
- Not posted yet: The rink's exact opening day, regular public hours and 2026 to 2027 admission prices. The rink's website still lists last season's schedule and rates, so don't count on those numbers until the site updates.
- Not posted yet: Nightly hours for the Chapungu light display.
For opening week, the Galway announcement gives you a window: late November. Check the rink site before you load the car.
If you're watching how the Promenade's reinvestment is shaping east Loveland, or how changes like this play into decisions about homes near Centerra, The Dennis Schick Team follows this corridor closely and is glad to talk through what's changing. Contact Us anytime.
