HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 03-08 Ramsey County receives recommendations for ice arenas MAPLEWOOD REVIEW 3/8/2016 Ramsey County receives recommendations for ice arenas I Lillie Suburban Newspapers-Lil I ieNews.com
Ramse y County receives
recommendations for ice
arenas
Submitted by admin on Tue,03/08/2016- 12:OOam
By: Mike Munzenrider
The Ramsey County Arena Task Force submitted a report with recommendations on the future of the county's 11 indoor ice
arenas to the Ramsey County Board last month.
The task force,formed in April of 2015, sought answers on how to manage the arenas as demand for their use declines and
the county faces potentially costly changes to arena refrigeration systems.
In a Ramsey County release issued Feb. 16 on the report,county commissioner Blake Huffman of Shoreview,an ex-officio
member of the task force, underscored the importance of the county arenas and previewed the board's next steps.
"Hockey and figure skating are part of the fabric of our life in Minnesota as well as Ramsey County's history," Huffman said in
the release.
"We will be reviewing [the taskforce's] recommendations and research carefully—along with publicfeedback—to create a
framework for the future of the county's arena system."
Ramsey County's arena system is one of the largest in the state, 13 sheets of ice in 11 locations,which are distributed around
the county's 170 square miles.
The county's ice arenas are:Aldrich Arena in Maplewood;St. Paul's Charles M.Schulz—Highland Arena, Gustafson-Phalen
Arena, Harding Arena, Ken Yackel-West Side Arena, Oscar Johnson Arena, Pleasant Arena; Shoreview Arena;Vadnais
Sports Center;and White Bear Arena.
The report discussed the arenas' decline in use as having many factors:There are fewer school hockey teams in the county
than when the arena system came into being some 40 years ago;there are transportation difficulties in getting to arenas;
today's kids have more sports choices;and the county's demographics have changed in the past four decades.
The report also discussed how the production of refrigerant R-22 will be phased out in 2020 due to environmental concerns;
R-22 is used to cool Ramsey County's 13 ice sheets and installing new cooling systems in arenas could cost between $5.2
million and $10.4 million or more.
The task force's recommendations are as follows:
•Ramsey County groups should be given priority when assigning ice time.
•Establish a threshold at which plans to consolidate Ramsey County groups into other arenas if a facility needs to be re-
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3/8/2016 Ramsey County receives recommendations for ice arenas I Lillie Suburban Newspapers-Lil I ieNews.com
purposed.
•Grow relationships with non-county groups—these groups pay higher ice rates than county groups, making up for not
supporting arenas through property taxes.
•Freeze ice time rates at current levels to head off the decline in use because of high costs.
•Undergo a phased approach to switching refrigerants,store R-22 and look at alternatives.
•Stretch out costs using the phased approach to switching refrigerants.
•Bundle other arena improvement costs in with the refrigerant transition costs.
•Beyond general obligation bonding, look at energy-saving programs to cover future costs.
•Establish criteria for closing an arena—if an arena's use drops below 50 percent by Ramsey County groups,the
discussion of closing it can begin.
•If participation in ice sports rebounds,look into adding ice sheets to arenas and focus on reducing single-sheet sites.
•Look at the potential of repurposing arenas for other community uses.
•Ensure that potential future changes would not negatively affect the current county workforce.
According to Sara Ackmann,director of operations for golf and arenas in Ramsey County, public comment on the
recommendations is welcome through the middle of this month.
Comments can be left by calling 651-748-2500 or by visiting www.ramseycounty.usand searching "arena task force."The full
report can be read on the county website as well.
The city-owned John Rose OVAL uses a different type of refrigeration system than county arenas and is not affected by
refrigerant production changes.
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