Ex-Supervisor Boyd wants taxpayer-financed ice rink

Boyd has pitched the idea to the subcommittee charged with making recommendations on parks projects and has met privately with county officials.

Private operators have struggled to keep ice rinks open in Tucson, but skating enthusiasts say it's not for lack of interest.

Better management, better marketing — and an assist from county taxpayers — could make a new ice rink viable, they say.

Since The Ice Rink, previously known as the Iceoplex, the Gateway Ice Center and Tucson Ice, closed in April, figure skaters and ice hockey players have had to compete with the University of Arizona's Icecats for scarce ice time at the Tucson Convention Center. And that ice time isn't cheap.

Some families are even traveling to Phoenix to skate there.

"In a community this size, I think there definitely is a need and a market," Boyd said.

Boyd's proposal calls for the county to pay $4.8 million toward the construction of an ice rink on county-owned property, most likely at the north end of Tucson Sports Park at the site of the former Fun Spot, at Interstate 10 and West Ina Road.

Local skaters, including hockey players, figure skaters and their families, would raise another $1.2 million toward construction costs, with some of the money coming from selling the naming rights.

Boyd believes the county should form a board-appointed, nonprofit group to run the rink, similar to the commission that runs horse racing at Rillito Racetrack. That group could work with an experienced private operator.

Boyd pointed to the county's many leased properties, including the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Crooked Tree Golf Course and OId Tucson, as models.

While some of the properties are major tourist attractions in the Tucson area and even generate revenue for the county, others have floundered. Tucson Sports Park defaulted on its lease, and county inspectors found the property required immediate repairs. And county supervisors continue to debate whether to continue the management agreement at Colossal Cave, another leased property.

Boyd said he does not think the rink will need any tax money to cover its operating costs.

"We want to be a community asset, not a burden," he said.

Boyd said building the rink on public property will make a big difference to the rink's bottom line and allow this new venture to be successful where others have failed.

"If the Gateway rink didn't have to pay the land costs, it would be open today," he said.

Rodney Glassman, a City Council candidate who used to manage the Gateway Ice Center when his family owned it, said he believes that's true.

"Business property taxes were the third-largest expense of the facility behind payroll and electricity," he said. "They made it very difficult, and it's already a very difficult business. A lot of cities in the western United States own them and operate them as parks."

Glassman asked the City Council to take over the arena and run it as a community arena back in 2000, but the city didn't go for it. The Glassmans eventually sold the rink to an investment group that included Tucson property-management company Bourn Partners.

The rink went through several management companies before Bourn closed it this April. Officials with Bourn have discussed turning the building at 7333 E. Rosewood St. into office space. A Bourn representative could not be reached Friday for comment.

Boyd said he first approached County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry with the idea of building the rink on private land but with public money. He said Huckelberry suggested the site at Tucson Sports Park.

While Boyd hopes to serve on the board of the nonprofit entity, he said he has no interest in any paid position related to a future rink. As a former county supervisor, he said he understands the system and has a good working relationship with decision-makers.

But he said he doesn't expect any special treatment.

"It's not going to be a political plum," he said. "There's a lot at stake, and I know the pubic has high expectations. This won't be a buddy system. We're going to go after the highest-quality operator we can find."

Boyd and Glassman said most other Western cities with ice rinks run them as public parks or in a public-private partnership. South Suburban Parks and Recreation in suburban Denver has two ice arenas that are moneymakers for the parks district. But Dave Turner, general manager of a privately run, publicly owned ice rink in Stockton, Calif., said it's more challenging in warm climates.

Operators have to compete with the weather in two ways — paying big bucks to keep the ice frozen in the heat and luring customers when the temperatures cool.

"Who wants to be on the ice rink when it's 85 degrees and sunny out?" he said.

Gail Langley, president of the Tucson Figure Skating Club, said there are lots of people who would like to skate, but limited ice time and high costs prevent people from pursuing it. Her club spent $6,500 to get six weeks of ice time at the TCC earlier this year.

"The average person cannot afford the exorbitant prices we have to charge to cover the ice costs," she said. "We've lost members, but we could have a lot more people."

She sometimes drives to Phoenix, leaving at 3 a.m., so her daughter can practice and be back in Tucson in time for school. She said some rinks there have waiting lists for skate school.

Langley said she would love to see an ice rink open in Tucson, and skaters would work hard to make it a success. She said the most important thing is finding an experienced operator with a proven track record.

The parks department cannot advocate for bond projects, but Carlo DiPilato, division manager for planning and development at Pima County Parks and Recreation, said he believes there is a market for an ice-skating arena.

"Properly managed, properly located, I think we can compete with Phoenix," he said.

DID YOU KNOW ...

Tucson's last ice rink closed in April. The Ice Rink, most recently owned and managed by Bourn Partners, was the latest incarnation of the rink at 7333 E. Rosewood St. Known variously at the Iceoplex, Gateway Ice Center and Tucson Ice, the rink opened in 1995.

From 1958 to 1987, Iceland Arena operated at 5915 E. Speedway. It closed over building-code violations and a legal dispute.