Editors Note: An earlier version of this story omitted the fact that New London Main Street is repaying the city for the cost of purchasing the rink. The correct version follows:

New London - This winter the city will be offering its own version of Rockefeller Center - a synthetic ice rink on the Parade with piped-in music, skating lessons and possible appearances by skating stars.

"I can't say yet who the stars will be,'' said Penny Parsekian, chief operating officer of New London Main Street, which will be managing the Rink at Parade Plaza.

The City Council on Monday approved spending $75,000 for a 45-by-90-foot synthetic skating rink, which is expected to open to the public Thanksgiving weekend.

The city will purchase the portable rink from Ice Rink Engineer and Manufacturing for $47,860 and a wall to encircle the rink from Sports Resource Group for $27,732. An additional $20,000 will be appropriated at a later date to buy a sales booth, skates and a music system, Parsekian said.

The city is borrowing the money and Main Street will repay all costs including interest on the loan. Main Street has received two federal Community Development Block Grants, a grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and private sponsorships to repay the city.

New London Main Street first proposed leasing a rink for $40,000 for one month as a way to liven up the downtown business district during the winter months. But after some city officials visited Greenport, Long Island, where the town operates an ice rink near its business district, the plans evolved.

"If we're going to do something of this type, having it available for one month didn't make sense,'' Mayor Martin Olsen said Tuesday. "If the intent is to create a critical mass of people during the cold months, it has to be up during the cold months."

In addition to city funding, costs to operate the rink and to offer free skating sessions and skate rentals to youngsters will come from grants and private donations. Dime Bank, Citizens Bank and Charter Oak Federal Credit Union are also helping to underwrite the project, Parsekian said.

"I think it's got the potential to be a real winner and a catalyst for business,'' Olsen said.

Main Street is advertising for a rink manager, who in turn will hire two workers. The rink is expected to be open seven days a week in December, January and February.

The Parks and Recreation Department has already signed up for skating time for lessons and open skates.

"It's so exciting,'' Parsekian said. "The public response has been so wonderful."

More information is available at newlondonmainstreet.org.

k.edgecomb@theday.com