Frankenmuth partnering up with Campus Martius for one-of-a-kind experience

The rink at Campus Martius is now open Friday to Sunday to kick off a weekend of pre-season ice skating before the rink officially opens next Friday.

"Ice and resurface looks good," said Ron Harris of Ypsilanti. "Yeah, I've seen a few ice surfaces." 

It's a different story for one 11-year-old, who loves coming to the rink every year.

"How fun it is, how nice they are, and the people when I first came - the people that were skating down here helped me skate," said Jordan Stewart, who hales from Detroit.

As the rink at Campus Martius celebrates 16 years, the first 100 visitors who came out Friday were let on the ice free of charge.

"It's pretty amazing - it's my first time coming down here for skating at least," said Joshua Cobbett of Armada.

"We have the rink, we have the skating, you have our restaurant park, you have the arctic zone, you have the winter lodge, you have all the markets, you have all it open now for the weekend and going forward," said Bob Greggory, of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. 

As this preview weekend gets underway, there are some upgrades that Greggory says will create a better experience on the ice.

"We've improved a lot of the infrastructure for the customer experience," he said. "We've got improved ice, improved chiller, all of that is to make it a better skating experience."

And now for the first time ever, the ice rink has partnered with Frankenmuth to offer a one-of-a-kind winter experience.

"We're bringing two iconic brands together: Frankenmuth Michigan and Campus Martius Park Michigan together to really help celebrate Pure Michigan," said Greggory.

This preview weekend leads up to the official opening next Friday which celebrates another tradition in the city of Detroit 

"The tree lighting, it's our 60th one at Campus Martius. We've got a beautiful 60-foot spruce from Cadillac, Michigan so that's the star of the show," said Greggory.

Once the ice rink officially opens November 22, it will remain open through March.