Pima County is soliciting proposals from qualified parties interested in developing, designing, building and operating an indoor ice-skating rink on the northwest side.
Pima County is providing the 10-acre site for the facility at Ted Walker Park, 6775 N. Casa Grande Highway, west of Interstate 10 north and south of West Ina Road. A successful bidder will be expected to secure private funding to build and operate the facility.
The Tucson area has been without a privately operated ice rink since a facility on the east side closed in April 2007. Since then, local hockey leagues and figure skaters have had only limited access to the ice at the Tucson Convention Center.
The contract award is subject to approval of the county Board of Supervisors, which will consider developer qualifications, financing and operating plans to decide which bidder, if any, will be selected to go forward with the project.
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The board is expected to consider the proposals no sooner than December.
The county has been working with hockey and figure-skating supporters for two years to bring an ice rink to the region.
"Public-private partnerships such as this provide expanded recreational opportunities to our community and stimulate economic development without cost to tax payers," Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said in a news release.
Proposals are due to the county by Oct. 22. A pre-bid meeting will be held on Aug. 25. For more information, including the complete request for proposals, go to www.pimacountyattractions. com/skatingrinkrfp
Ice-skating rinks have had a spotty history in Tucson. Tucsonans were left without a rink in 1987 with the closure of the Iceland Arena, 5915 E. Speedway, which had operated since 1958.
Ice returned to Tucson in 1995 with the opening of the Iceoplex at 7333 E. Rosewood St.
That facility, which later added a second rink, went through an ownership change and several operators, and struggled along as Iceoplex, Gateway Ice Center, Tucson Ice and The Ice Rink before closing in April 2007.
DID YOU KNOW
In November 1955, the athletic field at Tucson High School Stadium was turned into an ice rink. The international edition of the Ice Capades entertained thousands of Tucsonans with six performances, including one on Thanksgiving.
Read more about the show and see a photo of the rink in Tales From the Morgue at go.azstarnet. com/icecapades