Town working with hockey community on covered rink solution

“First step is apples to apples comparison. Second step is money…”

Discussions between the town of Crested Butte and the local hockey community over a covered rink have gone into an extra period.

Responding to some less than enthusiastic support to cover the existing Big Mine Hockey Rink, mayor Alan Bernholtz convened a meeting on Wednesday, May 27 of supporters and critics of the Big Mine rink plan, along with town staff and some council members.
The outcome is that an “apples to apples” cost comparison will be conducted between covering the current rink and starting over with a barebones covered rink near the Crested Butte Community School campus. The group will get together in another week to look at the figures and discuss options based on realistic financials. Everyone at the meeting voiced a desire to move forward with some sort of covered facility sooner rather than later.
“I called this meeting to get the facts out there and to get a consensus of where we all want to head with this,” said Bernholtz. “I want everything on the table. No B.S. Everyone wants what is best for hockey in the community. So let’s see if we can find the same direction and make something happen. In my opinion, I don’t care where it is. I don’t have a dog in that fight. I just want to do something.”
Bernholtz wanted to make sure that everyone understands the Big Mine ice sheet is indeed NHL regulation size. “Despite what was said in some letters in the paper, it’s the same size as the Gunnison sheet,” he assured everyone.
Hockey parent David Bright confirmed that he had measured the rink this week “and it is the right size. My tape measure showed it was 200 by 85 feet.”
John Mortell of the East River Skating Association board of directors voiced several concerns with covering the current rink. He pointed to studies that indicated it would be a mistake to continue on the Big Mine Ice Rink path. He was uncomfortable with the stability of the old coal cinders the current slab sits on and said the concrete was moving a lot. He brought up parking issues at the current site, conflicts with the Nordic Center and future inability to fit an enclosed rink with all the needed amenities at the current location. He wasn’t sure new boards could be installed.
Crested Butte parks and recreation director Jake Jones and town building and zoning director Bob Gillie disagreed with some of Mortell’s conclusions.
“Not all the assumptions made in the 1999 Crested Butte Ice report have turned out to be right,” countered Jones, but he did admit putting a cover on the current rink could limit future expansion.
Gillie said the current concrete slab was doing just fine and new boards could be safely installed. He said the cinders on the site go down about 12 feet and are manageable.
East River Skating Association representative Bill Coburn pointed to the CBAR (Crested Butte Arts and Recreation) study done about six years ago. “We looked at every possible site in that study and community consensus was that the school site was the best place to locate a rink based on any number of factors,” he said.
“What is the drive to put a cover on the current facility?” asked Mortell.
“Because we have gone nowhere in 14 years,” responded Bernholtz. “It would give us a covered rink. I haven’t seen any indication we really have any money for a rink at the school site.”
Bright said the town had to look at the options realistically. “I would love to have a new rink,” he said. “But with the economy the way it is, I’m in favor of a cover and new boards and glass at the current rink. Let’s play hockey the next four or five years under a cover and see what we can do when the economy turns around. I just don’t think the town can afford an enclosed rink right now.”
Coburn made it clear the East River Skating Association favors a very barebones, covered but not enclosed rink to be built over by the school. “Talking in a big picture sense, we think that for just a few hundred thousand dollars more than you would spend at Big Mine, you can have a proper facility in a proper place that allows for the future. We just don’t want to throw good money after bad.”
Jones had estimated the cost of putting a cover and adding parking, locker rooms, a newer Zamboni and some other upgrades to Big Mine rink in the neighborhood of $1.5 million. “But talk about throwing good money after bad. Maintaining that ice without a cover is very expensive,” he said. “I am fighting as hard as I can to get a cover somewhere as fast as I can.”
Jones also pointed out that the site by the school is the last large piece of land left that the town owns. He envisioned a potential recreation center over there as well.
“The underlying issue to the discussion is that we have deprived ourselves of a Chevy so we can eventually buy a Cadillac but in the meantime we are pedaling a bicycle. Do we do that another 10 years?” asked Gillie.
“The town had set aside land and spent money to study the school site and frankly it will take private sector money to build and operate and the private sector hasn’t stepped up,” said Gillie.
Coburn admitted that was true. “We walk around with our tail between our legs since [Gary] Garland pulled his promised million dollars,” he said. “But I still think we have some access to other funding sources. And to make it clear—we don’t want a Cadillac.”
Councilperson Skip Berkshire said that the addition of the new enclosed Gunnison Rink also changed the hockey landscape. “We don’t want to move to another enclosed rink that makes it a lose-lose situation for both us and Gunnison,” he said. “And there is always the nagging issue of operating costs and shortfalls.”
Berkshire also pointed out in the meeting that recent town surveys put a hockey rink down the list as far as a wanted recreational amenity. A recreation center and swimming pool was mentioned more often than a rink.
“It’s not like the town has $1.5 million ready to build a covered rink,” reminded Bernholtz. “It will be hard.”
Coburn said he thought East River Skating Association could raise some funds.
“We’ve heard that before,” said Bernholtz.
“I know,” said Coburn. “But we want a simple rink right now, not a Cadillac.”
Mortell suggested that he and Jones get together and draw up hard figures of covering Big Mine rink and building a barebones covered rink by the school. “Let’s do solid numbers at both sites.”
“As long as it is an apples-to-apples comparison,” emphasized Jones.
Everyone in the room agreed that an “apples-to-apples” comparison was a proper first step to finding a proper and workable direction.
Bernholtz made it clear he didn’t want the town to miss out on the potential summer grant cycle to help fund either rink. Jones and Mortell will take two weeks to draw up a real cost comparison.
“Can you touch base with your potential donors?” Bernholtz asked Coburn. “I think it’s important to know what’s really there. We all want to move ahead and maybe we can wait another year but no one wants to wait 10 years.”
Bernholtz made it clear to the East River Skating Association that he would be looking for firm figures of private-sector money available relatively soon to get a real grasp of cost. “I’d like to give you guys a deadline. Maybe sometime at the end of the summer to raise real money as part of the deal,” said Bernholtz.
Jones summed up the feeling at the meeting. “One piece of consensus I’d like to see is that it is not a wait-and-see situation,” he said. “We’ve waited and not seen long enough. We all want to see something happen.”
Mortell and Jones will work on numbers. Coburn said he would explore options and test the waters for potential donations. Another meeting will be held in mid-June.