Farmer Makes His Own ‘Field Of Dreams’, Plops $20K Ice Skating Rink In The Middle Of His Land

If there’s a disgraced hockey team from days of yore that were lost and wandering in a cornfield for eternity, or maybe a pair of figure skaters who threw their performance and are doomed to regret it in the afterlife, they’ll be happy to know there’s a place for them to go, a la Field of Dreams: A farmer in Minnesota (because of course) has built his own ice skating rink in the middle of his land. This isn’t just a field flooded with water that’s frozen over, reports CBS Minnesota. Nope — it’s the real, $20,000 deal. The farmer paid a hefty sum to set up the rink with professional boards, glass and lights, and do it up right. And it’s totally worth it, he says. “Needed a place to skate other than the rink in town. Needed a little more ice time, so we thought ‘Why not get some buddies together and build our own rink?’” he explained. He figured if he built it, they would come. And while he hasn’t said if any athletic ghosts have ventured onto the ice, it’s paying off — this way he doesn’t have to pay $100 for ice time, and eventually he hopes to start hosting hockey leagues. “Got about five of us together and it took us about 20 hours because we didn’t know what we were doing,” he said. “It’s our rookie season, but next year we will have it done in about five or six hours.” He wanted to save his friends and family money and give them much needed ice time (because again, this is Minnesota, so, hockey). “We work on a bunch of stuff like stick handling and stuff like that,” the farmer’s son says. The warming house? A pole barn. Time to clean the ice? He attaches a broom to his bobcat (machine, not feline) and his Zamboni is a PVC pipe attached to a hose. It can get too cold to skate after dark, but the neighbors say the weather hasn’t kept the kids away. “The kids love it. You have to keep an eye on them to make sure they are still the right color and not frozen,” one neighbor says. Don’t worry too much, folks. We Northern folks have an extra layer under our skin to keep us warm in the winter. At least that’s what Wisconsinites learn growing up.

Follow MBQ on Twitter if you don’t mind hear overbearing love of Aaron Rodgers: @marybethquirk If You Build A $20K Ice Rink On A Farm, They Will Come [CBS Minnesota]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.