Ice Arena Reopens to Warm Reception : Skating: Hundreds show up to celebrate after the Burbank rink’s owners renovated the historic facility instead of razing it.

Icy temperatures in the historic Pickwick Ice Arena on Saturday weren’t enough to frost the audience celebrating the reopening of the refurbished facility, which had been narrowly saved from the wrecking ball by the determined protests of loyal skaters.

Hundreds of spectators filed into the brightly lit arena in Burbank to watch performances by Olympic medalists Debi Thomas and Christopher Bowman and other skating stars during two ice shows marking the grand return of the landmark skating rink, complete with $500,000 worth of renovations.

The owners of the rink, Walter and Edward Saverts, had announced in June, 1990, that they would close the nationally known facility because the building needed $500,000 in repairs and because of rising liability insurance costs. But they changed their minds after a determined campaign by skating enthusiasts and fans of the rink.

“This is really a great day,” said Cary Adams, the rink’s longtime manager.

“Everyone seems very excited. It’s just as great as we thought it would be.”

Janet Becht, who has been skating at the arena since it opened 31 years ago, said she was overjoyed by the reopening.

“We were really worried,” she said. “This is definitely a great thing that it’s back.”

Among the improvements at the arena is a new system to control temperature and humidity, allowing more consistent ice conditions.

The refrigeration and piping systems were replaced, as well as the roof, ceiling and rubber floor matting.

The interior was repainted four shades of blue, and the dressing rooms were refurbished.

The celebration will continue today with a “Back to the ‘60s” public skating session and a celebrity hockey scrimmage, with scheduled appearences by actors Richard Dean Anderson and Dave Coulier.

The arena, which has one of the few Olympic-sized rinks in Los Angeles, has served as the training facility for Bowman and U. S. figure-skating champions Linda Fratianne and Tiffany Chin.

It is home to the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, which provides the United States with 25% of its national, Olympic and world-level competitors.

It has also been the home of legends and heroes.

The Los Angeles Kings hockey team once used the rink as its practice facility.

Movie star and skater Sonja Henie visited the rink three times a week before her death in 1969.

Adams said the Saverts have paid for the renovations with their own money.

“Once they realized just how popular the center was and how much it would be missed, they changed their minds about closing it and made a commitment.”