A skating rink appears in Center City

They glided and danced and skidded and fell. Some clung to the rink wall, shimmying carefully along. Others watched and waved from cold metal seats. Only one left on a stretcher.

At a noon ceremony Friday, a shimmering new ice rink welcomed hundreds of skaters to Dilworth Park on the west side of City Hall.

The Philadelphia Boys Choir, decked out in red shirts and Santa hats, sang "Circle of Life" from The Lion King as the skaters went round the rink, which will be open daily through Feb. 22.

"It's fantastic to have this right in front of City Hall," said Maureen Shanahan of Ambler, who is on the Philly Spirit Synchronized Skating Team. "It's sort of like our little Rockefeller Center."

But how many New Yorkers skate at Rockefeller Center on their lunch break?

That's what Joseph Gruber, who works for Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections, did. "I officially clocked out," he said, lacing up his skates.

Gruber, 30, approved of the ice - it is real, he noted, and not the synthetic material some rinks use.

Officially, it's the Rothman Institute Ice Rink - named for its title sponsor.

At the opening ceremony, Michelle Shannon, vice president of marketing for the Center City District, said the rink would serve as a "winter playground for all of Philly's neighborhoods." Then she and others took hammers to a sparkling ribbon of sculpted ice.

Shannon was joined by representatives of Rothman, PNC Bank, and 6ABC-TV, which sponsored the rink and which have their logos displayed along its walls.

Rothman put up "north of $100,000" to be the title sponsor for three years, said Paul Levy, the district's chief executive. He said the sponsorships enabled the district to keep ticket prices low.

"The whole key is to making this affordable for people. When you get a sponsor, they obviously want their identity out there, and at first it seemed humorous to have a health-care sponsor," Levy said of Rothman, an orthopedic clinic. "But skating, it's about wellness."

Skating was free until 3 p.m. Friday. Now it costs $4 for adults and $3 for children 10 and younger; skate rentals are $8 with no time limit, for now, on how long you can skate. The plan is to keep the rink open daily through Feb. 22.

Within minutes of the official opening, dozens of skaters ventured out. One woman fell and was injured. She was alert and sitting up as emergency personnel helped her to an ambulance. Fire officials said she was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital at 12:16 p.m. There was no immediate word on her condition.

Rounding the rink brought back memories for Stacey Jackson of the city's Brewerytown section. Her father used to take her skating on the rink below Penn Center - it closed decades ago - each weekend when she was a child.

"I'm here thinking about my dad today," she said. "He would have been up early and out on the ice." Lately, she's taken her grandchildren skating.

"It's going to make the city better, make people come together, it's going to make people take chances," Jackson said. "There are people here today who haven't ever been on skates."

Nakiyah Green, 13, was one of those newbies. An eighth grader at Meredith Elementary School in Queen Village, she went as part of a class trip. "As soon as I got out there, I fell," she said in a post-skate debriefing. "You know, it hurts more than I thought it would."

The rink will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 3 to 11 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

It was built atop newly installed fountains as part of Dilworth Park's $55 million renovation, a project led by the Center City District. The rink will also be available to rent for events such as birthday parties. A learn-to-skate program will be offered Sunday mornings for $60, including skate rental.

The ribbon-cutting - er, hammering - was the latest celebration of changes to the space formerly known as Dilworth Plaza. Last month, the Albert M. Greenfield Lawn was dedicated there.

Once Friday's hoopla died down - figure skaters performed from 1 to 3 - the rink got roomier. Andrew Oakley, 29, skated in a Flyers jersey with former team captain Mike Richards' name on it.

"Figured it'd be a nice, different way to spend the day," said Oakley, who is in school for pharmacy technician training. "It looks awesome, and it's a big thing for Philly to put it in the center of the city."