Portland is about to lose more than an ice rink.

For nearly six decades, Jerry and Tally Leonard have skated at Lloyd Center. They met on the ice in 1967. They built a life around it. Four days a week, they still glide hand in hand across the rink, drawing smiles from children, teens, and longtime shoppers who pause to watch something rare and beautiful: love, endurance, and community in motion.

Now, the Lloyd Center ice rink is set to be demolished as part of the mall’s redevelopment. The current plan does not guarantee a year-round replacement.

This rink is not just a feature inside a building. It has been a starter space for young skaters, a training ground for competitors, a gathering place for families, and a warm, welcoming public square in the heart of Portland. Generations have laced up their first pair of skates here. Friendships have formed here. So have lifelong partnerships.

When we talk about redevelopment, we should also talk about what makes a city worth living in. Community spaces like this bring people together across age, background, and political lines. They give young people healthy outlets. They give seniors connection and purpose. They give Portland something uniquely its own.

We urge Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, the Portland City Council, and the Lloyd Center property owners and developers to work together to preserve a year-round ice rink as part of the site’s future. Redevelopment and preservation do not have to be opposites. A modernized rink can be both financially viable and deeply meaningful.

Portland deserves growth that strengthens community, not erases it.

Save Lloyd Center Ice Rink as a year-round community space. Let future generations find their footing — and maybe even their life partners — on that ice.