Shortage of ice rinks in the DMV -- is there anything that we can do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I love this idea! Especially with the Yards trying to push TSNY out. I know their circus camps for kids are really popular so there’s clearly local interest.

Wait, what? TSNY is closing?

No they’re still open! But the yards broke their lease on the building back before the pandemic and they’ve been in a tent since the pandemic so I’m just kind of perpetually worried they’re not going to make it. If they could move into a big multipurpose space I think that would be awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there is a lot of demand for an ice rink, wouldn’t a private entity build one to make money?

The St. James is exactly that - a beautiful facility with two sheets of ice that are generally empty because they do not publish any public schedule or allocate time for freestyle training or open stick & puck sessions. My figure skater loved that rink but we haven't been since the pandemic b/c I have no clue when they have a freestyle session. Likewise, the Medstar website is so freaking useless to try to see a schedule and then sign up to skate, it's not worth the hassle. My kid skates daily at Cabin John and Wheaton because the schedule and sign-up is online and easy to access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there is a lot of demand for an ice rink, wouldn’t a private entity build one to make money?

The St. James is exactly that - a beautiful facility with two sheets of ice that are generally empty because they do not publish any public schedule or allocate time for freestyle training or open stick & puck sessions. My figure skater loved that rink but we haven't been since the pandemic b/c I have no clue when they have a freestyle session. Likewise, the Medstar website is so freaking useless to try to see a schedule and then sign up to skate, it's not worth the hassle. My kid skates daily at Cabin John and Wheaton because the schedule and sign-up is online and easy to access.

Medstar now uses the Open sports app for freestyle, which is a massive relief.

[Anonymous]

I don't live in the DMV but I do have a hockey player in a state with limited availability. A few of the kids who really love hockey and are making a go of it do online school and get privates on sticks and pucks sessions in the middle of the day. We do power skating lessons at 6 am with the figure skaters, and lessons on sticks and pucks at rinks that are 30+ minutes away at 6 am before school. It's a really hard sport in a nontraditional market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that my youngest child wants to play hockey, I am realizing how few ice rinks there are in the DMV.

Granted, I grew up in Minnesota, but there most high schools have their own ice rink. That's in addition to any rinks that the town, city, or county might have. (I also recently went to Boston and was blown away by the number and quality of rinks there.)

Here in the DMV, it seems like the high schools can barely find a place to skate.

My older daughter tried figure skating several years ago, but the rinks are always absurdly crowded.

I know there are new rinks in Virginia - Ion and St. James. But what about in the suburbs of MD? Could we lobby Moco to expand Cabin John or Wheaton? Those rinks seem like cash cows for the county, and there is plenty of land to expand.

The lack of ice rinks is especially appalling in historically black neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that my youngest child wants to play hockey, I am realizing how few ice rinks there are in the DMV.

Granted, I grew up in Minnesota, but there most high schools have their own ice rink. That's in addition to any rinks that the town, city, or county might have. (I also recently went to Boston and was blown away by the number and quality of rinks there.)

Here in the DMV, it seems like the high schools can barely find a place to skate.

My older daughter tried figure skating several years ago, but the rinks are always absurdly crowded.

I know there are new rinks in Virginia - Ion and St. James. But what about in the suburbs of MD? Could we lobby Moco to expand Cabin John or Wheaton? Those rinks seem like cash cows for the county, and there is plenty of land to expand.

The lack of ice rinks is especially appalling in historically black neighborhoods.

You’re joking right? Tucker Road got rebuilt quite nicely despite very little use from the local community. Ft Dupont getting rebuilt but I don’t see tons of use by local kids from Wards 7 and 8. More like the Ice Dogs and private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If there is a lot of demand for an ice rink, wouldn’t a private entity build one to make money?

The St. James is exactly that - a beautiful facility with two sheets of ice that are generally empty because they do not publish any public schedule or allocate time for freestyle training or open stick & puck sessions. My figure skater loved that rink but we haven't been since the pandemic b/c I have no clue when they have a freestyle session. Likewise, the Medstar website is so freaking useless to try to see a schedule and then sign up to skate, it's not worth the hassle. My kid skates daily at Cabin John and Wheaton because the schedule and sign-up is online and easy to access.

Medstar now uses the Open sports app for freestyle, which is a massive relief.

OpenSports totally sucks. It's not open to the public to see a schedule - it requires an administrator to let you into a secret SHSA group in order to sign up. If someone would like to show up and try to get involved, it's like they need the secret password to get in. I find it very off-putting. I also hate that it runs my credit card for each session separately - so instead of paying for three sessions in one transaction, I have to check out three separate times. You'd think by now the rink could figure out a more transparent and welcoming way for new skaters to get onto their ice.

Tucker Road is gorgeous and empty, possibly because the only way to know their freestyle and stick & puck schedule is to physically visit the rink and pick up a paper copy from the front desk. All of these are barriers to entry for new participants!

[Anonymous]

There are two nice ice rinks on the west side of lower Montgomery county. There’s an ice rink on Southlawn that has a number of rinks so that different events can occur at the same time, as well as Cabin John Has an ice rink

[Anonymous]

Yes, black communities deserve nice recreational facilities. But it seems Mayor Bowser is not going to let that happen.
https://www.fdia.org/newrink/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, black communities deserve nice recreational facilities. But it seems Mayor Bowser is not going to let that happen.
https://www.fdia.org/newrink/

I agree but is this really the best use of DC funds? Mostly white, non DC people use that rink. How much ice does the community and the Cannons really get? Let Ted Leonsis or Black Bear Sports build it.

By the way, why don't the Cannons play in the CBHL or CCHL? It seems like they hide that team. They'll play the Banners but I wish I saw them more integrated into the broader hockey community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, black communities deserve nice recreational facilities. But it seems Mayor Bowser is not going to let that happen.
https://www.fdia.org/newrink/

I agree but is this really the best use of DC funds? Mostly white, non DC people use that rink. How much ice does the community and the Cannons really get? Let Ted Leonsis or Black Bear Sports build it.

By the way, why don't the Cannons play in the CBHL or CCHL? It seems like they hide that team. They'll play the Banners but I wish I saw them more integrated into the broader hockey community.

Sounds like the proposal from the District was siphoning off millions of dollars from the rink and going to unidentified places. So they are passing on the proposal, and will keep the rink as is. Its functional, but other than the ice the rest of the facility is kind of an s__hole. DC seems to be OK letting it stay that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bowie built a huge fancy rink about 20 years ago. My understanding is that it’s a financial drain on the city.
I’m generally in favor of public facilities and I enjoy ice skating but really rinks seem like such an environmental disaster, I’m not really sure why public entities should be subsidizing this MC and UMC hobby. Just cause you grew up playing these sports in Boston or Minneapolis doesn’t mean we need to have that level of support for it here in Maryland. If forced to chose, I’d pick more pools as it is more accessible cardiovascular exercises that is much healthier for the joints, plus swim safety is important for everyone, so from a public health perspective, pools are much more beneficial than ice rinks.

20 years ago? How about in 1971? And “huge” and “fancy” may be relative, but are hardly words I’d use to describe it.

As for judicious use of public funds, a good start would have been for a new government that primarily identifies with a certain constituency to not throw away millions of dollars by cancelling an already approved ice rink project so they could pursue a different project more in line with what they thought their constituent group might like.

As for MC/UMC activities, that’s who lives in Bowie. As for pools, there are plenty in Bowie, constantly soliciting for members.

So you might want to pick someplace else to use as an example.

[Anonymous]

The St. James is exactly that - a beautiful facility with two sheets of ice that are generally empty because they do not publish any public schedule or allocate time for freestyle training or open stick & puck sessions. My figure skater loved that rink but we haven't been since the pandemic b/c I have no clue when they have a freestyle session.

TSJ completely imploded its figure skating program. My daughter skated there pre-COVID, and they used to offer several hours of freestyles in the morning and afternoon. We tried so hard to get them to resume freestyle ice when things reopened after COVID, but they refused for months and months, long after other rinks reopened. All of their figure skating coaches moved elsewhere, and now TSJ only offers an hour or two of ice a day of freestyle ice at most. I don't know if they ever re-hired a figure skating director. It has so much potential and is very convenient for us, but unfortunately the ice is mostly unused. I really don't understand TSJ's financial or management decisions.

[Anonymous]

^^ Not even an hour a day at TSJ - they have freestyles on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:20 to 12:50. That is it. What kind of schedule is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are two nice ice rinks on the west side of lower Montgomery county. There’s an ice rink on Southlawn that has a number of rinks so that different events can occur at the same time, as well as Cabin John Has an ice rink

This is an uninformed comment. It is obvious that there are rinks in Rockville and at Cabin John. The issue is that these rinks are packed at all times, and teams and individuals are all vying for ice time at these precious few rinks. (And these rinks are dark and old anyway.)