The Red Barn's Next Life Is a Hockey Rink. This Winter, Westport Still Skates at Longshore.

"Westport is an amazing place that offers so much, but the one thing that's always been missing since I grew up here has been a year-round ice rink for everyone to enjoy." Russell Sherman, who sits on the project's steering committee, said that to the Westport Journal in June, after the Westport Weston Family YMCA said it would build that rink at the old Red Barn property on Wilton Road.

The town's only public ice right now is the WPAL Rink at Longshore. It's outdoors and runs about three months a year, so any warm stretch can cancel a session. The Y plans to fill that gap on a parcel Westport already knows as a gathering place, and the timeline matters as much as the building. In early November the Y announced that the restaurant building will come down. The arena itself has a preliminary completion estimate of 2029, so until then, winter skating in Westport still runs through Compo Road South.

A barn older than the parkway beside it

The property is 292 Wilton Road, on Route 33 right next to the Merritt Parkway. The building is older than the restaurant most people remember. Westport's historic resources inventory lists it as a barn from around 1850, first known as the Augustus Draves Barn, that was later converted into a restaurant.

Here's how the parcel got from there to here:

1. Around 1850: the Augustus Draves Barn goes up.
2. The 1930s: the Merritt Parkway opens, and according to 06880, restaurant use of the site dates to about then.
3. 1983: the Nistico family takes over the Red Barn Restaurant.
4. July 2015: the restaurant closes, as Patch reported at the time.
5. 2015: the YMCA buys the 3.2-acre property from the Nisticos for $2.8 million. The sale includes the restaurant and a separate house.
6. 2021: the property is still empty. The Y had looked at using it for gymnastics but put that program in its new wing instead.
7. June 2026: the Y announces the Red Barn Ice Arena.
8. November 2026: the Y says it will demolish the existing buildings, including the former restaurant.

So the property sat mostly unused for about a decade, longer than the three years left before the arena's estimated finish. Sherman's description of what the barn used to be explains why the plan holds onto so much of it. "The Red Barn Restaurant was a place where Westport came together for decades," he told the Westport Journal. "Now it will be again."

What the Y is building in its place

The plan is one indoor, NHL-regulation-size rink that stays open year-round. It will have spectator seating, locker rooms and a lobby. The YMCA's project site lists these programs:

• Public skating
• Learn-to-skate classes
• Figure skating
• Youth and high school hockey
• Adult leagues
• Specialty summer camps

The rink will have a concrete floor that can be used for other activities when the ice is out. The design will bring back pieces of the restaurant through architectural details, colors and memorabilia, including the Red Barn sign.

The arena would also give Staples hockey a home rink in town. The Westport Journal reported that both Staples teams are co-ops. The girls' team, the Black Knights, includes students from Stamford and Westhill, and the boys' team, Stormac, includes players from Norwalk and Brien McMahon. Staples athletic director VJ Sarullo told the paper the team currently practices and plays at Milford Ice Arena, which has been "incredibly generous with us," and that a rink in town would be a "huge advantage."

The Y told the Westport Journal it hopes the new arena will have "a positive and complementary impact" on the outdoor rink.

Why the new building moves off the old footprint

The arena won't go on the barn's footprint. The Y says the new building will sit closer to the center of the property, outside the flood zone where the restaurant stands now, and will be built to current building and fire codes. That's a big reason the plan saves the barn's look and memorabilia but not the barn itself.

Wastewater is the other limit. Matthew Mandell, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce, pointed out to the Westport Journal that the parcel is in the sewer avoidance area, outside the town's "Blue Line." The Y said it will handle the rink's wastewater on site with septic and other measures. The restaurant used septic too, and the Y's main facility already handles its wastewater on site.

The schedule that runs before anything gets built

The November 5 update on 06880 said the Y has hired an architecture firm, is evaluating construction partners and is putting together a fundraising campaign. Demolition will start after the town's standard 180-day notice period. The town's ordinance lets a property owner ask to waive that wait, and the Y said it won't.

Funding will come from the Y plus a capital campaign in the community. Westport's Cumming Group is the project manager, and the Y expects the rink to pay for itself once it opens. The June schedule had about a year and a half of fundraising followed by about 18 months of construction. Those two stretches add up to the 2029 estimate the Westport Journal reported.

The local officials quoted in June supported the plan. RTM District 3 member Jimmy Izzo said the rink "fills a much needed void." His fellow District 3 member Adam Drake called it "a fantastic idea" but said he was worried about traffic. "Wilton Road is a nightmare during rush hour, and … this could make it worse," he told the Westport Journal. He suggested a direct route into the rink's parking lot from the northbound Merritt Parkway to ease congestion. Readers commenting on 06880's June story were split. Some welcomed the arena, and others objected to tearing down a historic barn so many people loved.

Anyone who drives Route 33 regularly will see the barn come down before they see much else happen there. The Y posts updates and renderings on redbarnicearena.com.

Where Westport skates in the meantime

For now, public ice in Westport is still outdoors at Longshore. The WPAL Rink at Longshore, at 260 Compo Road South, lists Friday, November 27 as its projected opening day for the 2026–2027 season. That's the day after Thanksgiving and eight days after this post. The rink is open to the public, rents and sharpens skates, and doesn't take reservations for public skate. Because it's outdoors, the rink suggests checking its online schedule before you go when the weather looks iffy.

The rink also has a new concession operator this season. Nikky Glekas and her crew from Sandbar will run the stand and handle food and drinks for private parties. The rink says dedicated ice time for parties is limited, and it offers group rates during public sessions. Group lessons are booked through Westport Parks & Rec at 203-341-5090. The rink is run by the Westport Police Athletic League.

Indoor ice nearby is in Stamford:

Until the Red Barn Ice Arena opens, indoor skating for Westport means a drive to one of the Stamford rinks above. If you live near the beach and the Compo South neighborhood, the outdoor rink is a short trip. More of what's coming up in town is on the Westport neighborhood page.

Projects like the Red Barn Ice Arena change how a part of town gets used, from traffic on Wilton Road to where Staples hockey families spend their weekends. If you're wondering what that means for a home near Route 33 or Longshore, Jennifer Lockwood Homes can walk you through it. Request a complimentary market consultation, and we'll talk through how the Wilton Road corridor is changing.