Williams Park's Ice Rink Is a Six-Week Test. Here's How to Use It.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"This park has great bones. You don't need millions to recreate this park." That's how Shaun Drinkard, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Improvement District, recalled the verdict of Dan Biederman, the public-space manager behind the revival of New York's Bryant Park, after Biederman toured Williams Park. Drinkard told the story to WUSF.
On November 20, the city will get a temporary look at what those bones can hold. Winter Wonder puts an open-air ice rink, a holiday market, a food and beverage commons, and live entertainment inside the 3.3-acre park at the center of downtown. It runs through January 3, 2027. Drinkard calls it a live experiment. For six weeks, the Downtown Improvement District will watch how people actually move through and use the park before the next round of permanent improvements begins. So every skate session and every Thursday-night cocoa helps decide what Williams Park looks like in 2027.
Williams Park was St. Petersburg's first public space. Drinkard told WUSF it "became an afterthought" as the city put its attention on the waterfront parks and the Pier. The turnaround has come in stages. PSTA moved its buses out of the park in 2016, ending the years when idling buses walled off the green. The City started the process of renovating the bandshell in 2018, and later hurricanes damaged it further, which complicated the revival effort.
"This is a 10-year lead-up to investing in the park," Drinkard said in the same WUSF interview. The location has always been visible. Using FDOT data, organizers estimate about 50,000 vehicles circle Williams Park every day. What it hasn't had is a steady reason for people to stop. Winter Wonder is meant to supply one for more than 40 days in a row, where a weekend festival lasts two.
Whether your visit feels like a festival or just a skate depends on the day. The official Winter Wonder schedule splits the week in two. On regular Mondays through Wednesdays, only the rink is open and the Wonder Market and food are closed.
| When | Hours | What's open |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Wednesday, regular weeks | 6 to 10 p.m. | Ice skating only |
| Thursday and Friday | 6 to 10 p.m. | Rink, Wonder Market, food and drinks |
| Saturday and Sunday | 2 to 10 p.m. | Rink, Wonder Market, food and drinks |
| November 23 to 27 | 2 to 10 p.m. daily | Everything |
| December 21 to January 3 | 2 to 10 p.m. daily | Everything |
The first extended stretch covers Thanksgiving week, and the second runs from the last days before Christmas through the first weekend of January. During those days the full park is open every afternoon. Opening night is Friday, November 20, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Walking in costs nothing. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Winter Wonder is free to attend, so you only pay if you skate. On a Thursday or a weekend afternoon, a stroll through the market with a drink from the commons is a free evening downtown.
Ice Rink Events handles the tickets. Every reservation is made online or by scanning an on-site QR code, and organizers recommend booking ahead because space is limited.
The discounts land mostly on the quieter part of the week. All three $9 Tuesdays fall on skate-only nights, and three of the six group dates are Wednesdays, another skate-only night. If you just want ice time, those are the cheapest evenings of the season. Tickets are sold through the Winter Wonder reservation page, and ticket questions go to Ice Rink Events at [email protected].
Biederman's approach is to break a public space into smaller "rooms," each giving people a reason to stop, gather or join in. Drinkard told WUSF that Williams Park's small footprint suits that approach. In a park the size of Vinoy Park, a small group disappears into the lawn. In 3.3 acres, activity can build on itself.
The proposed Winter Wonder layout follows that logic, as WUSF described it:
The vendor and menu lists haven't been posted yet. The official site says to check back for both.
The south end is the part to watch. That's where the fountain and veterans memorial stand, and Drinkard told WUSF he sees it becoming the park's main active urban plaza. That could mean regular events and food and beverage service seven days a week, all year. Winter Wonder gives planners a temporary version of that plaza to study.
The yardstick is specific. Drinkard is aiming for about 100 people per acre at any given time. For Williams Park, that's roughly 300 people at once. The weekday split above makes the test sharper. A Tuesday with only skating and a Saturday with the whole park running will show whether the rink alone can draw a crowd, or whether it takes the market and the commons together.
The City's share of the work is restoring the historic bandshell, keeping its character while making it more usable for performances and events. Alongside the bandshell, the Williams Park Partnership is handling upgrades to plant beds, sidewalks and electrical service across the park, in phases. As of the Tampa Bay Times report on October 15, the bandshell renovation was expected to finish in early November, just before Winter Wonder opens.
After the rink comes down, the next phase is already funded. Organizers have secured $800,000 in state appropriations for more improvements, which Drinkard expects to move forward in early 2027.
That spending is meant to help the events the park already hosts, without crowding them out. Drinkard named Localtopia, Paddy Fest and the Saturday Morning Market and said the goal is to make Williams Park work better for them. Electrical capacity is his example. More power in the park could make markets and festivals easier to run, and lessons from past events are already shaping the plans. He also told WUSF that The Florida Orchestra has expressed interest in using the restored bandshell. That's interest only, with no performance booked.
Winter Wonder opens eight days before the City's long-running holiday events, and several of them are a short walk from Williams Park. Here's how the dates line up, from the St. Pete Parks & Recreation holiday events page:
For a December 5 outing, Snowfest in the morning and skating in the afternoon fit together with no overlap. On the Meet Santa evenings from December 21 to 23, Winter Wonder will already be on its daily extended schedule, so the market and food commons are open those nights as well. The City lists SouthCore Garage at 101 1st Ave. S. among its downtown public parking options.
The last day on the ice is January 3, 2027. After that, the state-funded work is expected to begin in early 2027.
The team at Paradise Home Team is keeping an eye on what Williams Park becomes once the rink comes down. If you own near downtown and want to know how your home's value compares today, start with our Instant Home Valuation, and we'll follow up with a clear, no-pressure local read.
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