What was the pre-pandemic rate in your area? In my part of NJ (rinks still closed), rinks already charged ~$18/hr for 1 hr of freestyle (single session rates). When they reopen, I would expect rates to go up, given reduced capacity plus extra expenses.
Excellent question!
I can't find the pre-covid19 rates for Piney Orchard Ice Arena (the relevant rink) from one year ago.
Could anyone else here give an estimate of what they typically pay for freestyle sessions? Perhaps he is right, and $22/hour is reasonable??
Truth is, I wasn't going to freestyle or dance sessions any more, because there were so many uncrowded mid-day public sessions.
At Wheaton Ice Arena, another Maryland rink near me, but which is currently closed for Covid19:
FREESTYLE $8.50 for each 30 minute session; 20 sessions = $150; 40 sessions = $280; 80 sessions = $480
DANCE $13.00 for each 2-hour session
I think that Gardens Ice House, another private rink, which was more expensive than the government subsidized rinks which dominate our area, was charging about $15/45 minute freestyle or dance sessions during prior summers, though that went down to about $11 or $12 if you bought multiple sessions at once. But they often kicked off or scared off skaters who couldn't skate up to the required level, which not all rinks do - in fact Piney orchard has no level requirements except during special "high freestyle" sessions.
Since I could skate during the day, I used to be able to find uncrowded public sessions at my favorite rink for $6.50 for 2 hours - $6 for kids and seniors, or about $300/season pass. (The season was about 10-11 months, and had 3 - 4 two hour public sessions / day, much more than I needed.) If I picked the right session, I could count on being the only person there for 30 minutes to an hour of that, or sharing the ice with 1 - 3 people for that long. But that is for public sessions on a a government subsidized rink. (That particular rink does not limit what figure skating moves you can practice during uncrowded public sessions.)
When I played rink guard at Gardens, I could skate their other publics for free, though they were more crowded.
So, to me, $22/hour seems outrageous. But perhaps it doesn't seem so to others here?