Skating Club of Boston Norwood Facility - Advice on Hotels, Travel, Restaurants

[theblade]

Hello fine people: looking for up-to-date advice re: The Skating Club of Boston's Norwood Facility. Any advice is welcome (PMs as well, if they are more appropriate).

Headed there for a competition in the future; want to make the experience as seamless as possible as we've not been to this facility. Some questions:

-Highways/traffic to avoid near the facility (long drive from the West).
-Hotels nearby (there may be early a.m. practice ice): close is good, affordable is great, clean (with hopefully a gym).
-Grocery stores - Trader Joe's? Local health food stores?
-Restaurants that are healthy.
-Things we should know about the facility itself.

Other rinks with practice ice in the general vicinity.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Arriba627]

My biggest concern is transportation to and from the hotel/arena, especially after events are over for the day. Can't imagine how we'll all get an Uber, taxi, etc.

 

[moonvine]

My biggest concern is transportation to and from the hotel/arena, especially after events are over for the day. Can't imagine how we'll all get an Uber, taxi, etc.

Why would you not be able to get one? What about a hotel shuttle?

 

[moonvine]

Hello fine people: looking for up-to-date advice re: The Skating Club of Boston's Norwood Facility. Any advice is welcome (PMs as well, if they are more appropriate).

Headed there for a competition in the future; want to make the experience as seamless as possible as we've not been to this facility. Some questions:

-Highways/traffic to avoid near the facility (long drive from the West).
-Hotels nearby (there may be early a.m. practice ice): close is good, affordable is great, clean (with hopefully a gym).
-Grocery stores - Trader Joe's? Local health food stores?
-Restaurants that are healthy.
-Things we should know about the facility itself.

Other rinks with practice ice in the general vicinity.

Thanks for any input!

There is healthy food available in the arena. It is expensive and limited selection, we got tired of it last year. I didn't seek out other restaurants because there were no in/out parking privileges. Not sure what the policy is for this event.

I don't know about grocery stores. I went to one.....Market Basket? to buy Gracie's roses.



There is some other event going on in the area in addition to Skate America. I don't think there will be any cheap hotels. The Econo Lodge is $109 but of course it is very basic and has no gym. I would not have had time for a gym last time I was there. I was at the arena from the time I got up until I went to bed.

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[Jeanie19]

I haven't checked out the area yet, as I live an hour away. About a half hour away is Gillette Stadium. They have some stores and restaurants including Trader Joe's.

 

[charmblade]

There is a Wegmans very close, maybe five minutes away. There is also a Whole Foods right down 95, maybe 10-15min away?

 

[Arriba627]

Why would you not be able to get one? What about a hotel shuttle?

Yesterday I called all 4 hotels where I have a reservation, and none have shuttles. 2 of the 4 used to but have discontinued it since Covid...I guess I was thinking when 100 people are trying to get an Uber at the same time, it will be difficult if not impossible. At one event I attended, cabs would not come because of the monumental traffic jam. Maybe I'm worrying too much.

Thx for the info on the food. Much appreciated!

 

[Arriba627]

There is a Wegmans very close, maybe five minutes away. There is also a Whole Foods right down 95, maybe 10-15min away?

Is this walking or driving distances?

 

[cl2]

I'm from Boston and familiar with the SCOB rink and area.

Norwood is a very suburban area, and you'll probably find that having a car is almost essential, especially if you're having to commute to multiple places multiple times a day. Nothing is walkable. Uber apparently still exists there, but, ...

Traffic is nuts during rush hour, if you're needing to take I90/I93/I95. Even off-peak, plan for extra travel time. I have found Google maps to have fairly good statistics on the expected travel times at various times of the day.

There are several clusters of areas with some nice restaurants: downtown Norwood, some at nearby malls, some scattered along Route 1. There is a cafe on-site, but you'll quickly get bored of the selections. Wegmans within 5 minutes drive. Ikea within 20 minutes, if that counts for anything. ;P

Hotels are hotels. That area and surrounding suburbs are generally reasonably safe. Hotels there don't come cheap (maybe because they serve the nearby Gilette Stadium). If you're there as a competitor, the LOC may have information about room blocks at nearby hotels.

About the facility. It's a warm rink, as far as rinks go. Skaters frequently practice in tank tops. The temperature at the stands is also reasonably comfortable for spectators. There is ample space on the second floor for warm up and off-ice. Guest wifi is available, though I've never had issues with receiving mobile signal anyway (Google Fi). Ice is wonderful---not the hard hockey ice, but nice soft ice meant for figure skating.

There is Boch Ice Center and Canton Ice House nearby. But I do not know what kind of schedules they have. They are mainly hockey rinks. The closest figure skating-friendly rink is at Colonial FSC, but it's a solid 45 minutes away.

Happy to answer any other questions. Good luck!

 

[charmblade]

Is this walking or driving distances?

Driving. The rink isn’t really walkable to anywhere. It’s along a road that connects two other roads that both have more amenities. As mentioned above, the whole area is not very pedestrian friendly.

 

[katymay]

Yesterday I called all 4 hotels where I have a reservation, and none have shuttles. 2 of the 4 used to but have discontinued it since Covid...I guess I was thinking when 100 people are trying to get an Uber at the same time, it will be difficult if not impossible. At one event I attended, cabs would not come because of the monumental traffic jam. Maybe I'm worrying too much.

Thx for the info on the food. Much appreciated!

Might be further impacted by the transit shutdowns in Boston which might continue until the end of Sept. (Thereby increasing the need for uber/lyft in Boston proper).

 

[theblade]

Good grief: we need an entire sub-forum on event facilities with up-to-date information such as this! Ha!

 

[moonvine]

I'm from Boston and familiar with the SCOB rink and area.

Norwood is a very suburban area, and you'll probably find that having a car is almost essential, especially if you're having to commute to multiple places multiple times a day. Nothing is walkable. Uber apparently still exists there, but, ...

Traffic is nuts during rush hour, if you're needing to take I90/I93/I95. Even off-peak, plan for extra travel time. I have found Google maps to have fairly good statistics on the expected travel times at various times of the day.

There are several clusters of areas with some nice restaurants: downtown Norwood, some at nearby malls, some scattered along Route 1. There is a cafe on-site, but you'll quickly get bored of the selections. Wegmans within 5 minutes drive. Ikea within 20 minutes, if that counts for anything. ;P

Hotels are hotels. That area and surrounding suburbs are generally reasonably safe. Hotels there don't come cheap (maybe because they serve the nearby Gilette Stadium). If you're there as a competitor, the LOC may have information about room blocks at nearby hotels.

About the facility. It's a warm rink, as far as rinks go. Skaters frequently practice in tank tops. The temperature at the stands is also reasonably comfortable for spectators. There is ample space on the second floor for warm up and off-ice. Guest wifi is available, though I've never had issues with receiving mobile signal anyway (Google Fi). Ice is wonderful---not the hard hockey ice, but nice soft ice meant for figure skating.

There is Boch Ice Center and Canton Ice House nearby. But I do not know what kind of schedules they have. They are mainly hockey rinks. The closest figure skating-friendly rink is at Colonial FSC, but it's a solid 45 minutes away.

Happy to answer any other questions. Good luck!

I think I posted the link to the hotels.

I personally stayed 20 minutes away to save money. For me if there is no shuttle and I have a car, staying close isn't all that important. If I don't have a car I learned on my last trip I might as well stay closer and not kill myself with uber bills than to stay further away and pay $40 or $50 for ubers to the hotel. I come in once and leave once, particularly when there aren't any parking in/out privileges. I carry food/drinks in my bag. Like string cheese, fruit, sometimes a sandwich. I mean, I put it in my bag, if you shoved it in their face they might say something. For Cranberry, I was there from very early morning until late at night. I mean I even walked in carrying a latte. Now whether or not they'll actually be searching bags for this event, I have no idea. It's obviously a GP instead of a Senior B.

I'd be more worried about parking than an Uber. I don't think there are sufficient spots for an event of this size. At Cranberry in 2021, they had a parking garage with free shuttle running to the facility and parking at an adjacent lot. In 2022 they did not. I don't know if they realized there wouldn't be many spectators due to the lineup as opposed to the previous year or what. I got there early and was able to get one of the handicapped spots. It is a stunning facility but I worry that being sold out with spectators in addition to judges, coaches, competitors, volunteers, etc it will be very crowded. I hope as the event gets closer they will announce details on parking.

YMMV with regard to rink temperature. I was sitting in a seat that kind of overhung the ice and I was FREEZING. I had multiple layers, gloves, etc on and was still miserable. A lovely person gave me a blanket and I still had to move up a seat because I was just too cold, but I have thyroid disease and can't regulate my own body temperature. Farther away from the ice is ok.

 

[apgold]

Re: transportation - when I bought my tickets I asked about SCOB providing shuttles as they have had in the past for large audience events, such as their Night of Stars event last year.

The person at the B.O. said they were looking into securing shuttles for SA from the Rte 128 Amtrak station (which is about 2 miles from the facility and a five minute drive) since they do not have enough parking at SCOB. If you are staying near the Amtrak station (as I am), I'm hoping this will happen and I won't have to worry about Ubers or taxis.

I am keeping an eye on their website for more details as the event gets closer.

I also plan to raid Wegmans to get snacks. I'm sure their on site café is lovely but I hope they bring in food trucks and such to accommodate over two thousand hungry skating fans over the weekend!