another Virginia rink closure

[mdvask8r]

8O :cry: :?? :x :frus:Where's the emoticon for being kicked in the gut??

I just received an email from the owners/management of Charlottesville Ice Park that the facility is going up for sale. They are handling the whole thing with MUCH more class and sensitivity than the recent Fredericksburg situation, but it still HURTS bigtime!

. . . I don't know what else to say . . . so sad . . .

[AgnesNitt]

Nooooooooooo!!!!!:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
That just leaves Skate Nation! AAAARrrrggghhh!:frus::frus::frus:

Are they moving something else into Charlottesville, or is there a possibility another operator will take it over?:?:

And it's a post Olympic year when business goes up!

[AgnesNitt]

This was the publicly released notice. Maybe they could survive if the college had a synchro team. That's what Lynchburg does. Where's UVA hockey going to skate? Or does the school have a rink?

-----Begin Memo----

Below is the text of a memo we gave to the Ice Park senior staff at a meeting this afternoon, and we want to get this information out to our cutomers. The memo states all of the facts of the current situation. As you will read in the memo, it is our fervent hope that the rink will continue operations past our ownership. We will keep you updated as events develop. Thank you for you patrasonship in the past…and in the future.
Bruce WIlliamson and Roberta Williamson

TO: All Staff
FROM: Bruce Williamson and Roberta Williamson
DATE: February 26, 2010

The Ice Park is being listed for sale. We are sad to have to tell you this, and we are writing to explain to you why this is being done.

Before giving you the details, we want to tell you that we appreciate deeply the efforts of everyone who has been involved with the Ice Park, present and past. The rink could not have operated as well or as long as it has without the work of all concerned.

Here are the details. We purchased the rink, equipment, and business in 2003 for $3.1 million. Between 2003 and 2005 we spent money on improvements and repairs to the Ice Park, including the Munters dehumidifier on the roof of the Water Street Terrace, the new Zamboni, the new rink sound system, new lighting in the lobby, the front-window display sign, new computers, point-of-sale software, work on the rink building, renovation of the Water Street Terrace and contributions to operating expenses to cover losses.

In 2005, we exercised a five-year lease extension through November 30, 2010, with BMD Land Trust, the owner of the 218 West main Street Building that is necessary for operation of the business. By the end of May of this year, we must notify BMD Land Trust if we wish to exercise the remaining five-year lease extension through November 30, 2015. In 2005, we agreed that we would allow cumulative losses up to $1 million. The rink’s budget deficits make up the principal of a personal loan with a lending institution and have now exceeded $850,000.00, not including the interest payments we have made on that loan over the years.

It is very clear to us that continuing to operate the Ice Park for even one more full year will mean that our losses since 2005 will exceed $1 million

We hope that some person, entity, or group of persons interested in keeping a rink in Charlottesville will purchase the property and business from us. A large enough group of people, sharing the losses so that no one person’s losses are terribly high, might operate the rink for an extended period of time and eventually sell the real estate when the economy is healthy again. They could make an excellent return on their investment, which might permit a less expensive-to-operate rink to be built in the area. That had been our hope, but the losses as described above mounted more quickly that we anticipated they would.

We want to emphasize that the operating losses of the Charlottesville Ice Park are not the fault of the efforts of ownership, management or staff. The reality is that the Central Virginia area, while being enthusiastic about the rink to a degree, does not have enough people interested in skating often enough to support the operation. The numbers are interesting, but suffice it to say that if we had about 20,000 additional public skating visits per year, that is 400 per week averaged over a full year, the rink would break even.

The skating school and hockey operations are at or very near capacity, so there is really nothing that either of those departments could have done to bridge the income-expense gap. We are, in fact, very, very pleased with and proud of the jobs that Hockey Director Jennifer Blanchard and Skating School Director Lindsay Tilley have done.

The rink is being listed at $4.1 million, a reasonable price in the current market. We will be taking a loss on this investment. Our sale price is lower than it would have been in 2007 or 2008. We want to make it clear, though, that we went into this business with our eyes open, and we have kept them open through the years. We have no regrets and we are happy and proud to have made a contribution to the life of our City by keeping this wonderful facility open since July 2003.

The Charlottesville Ice Park will be hosting the ice skating portion of the Coventry Commonwealth Games in June of this year. We will continue operations at least until then and will evaluate the situation in a couple of months from now to determine a specific date for discontinuing skating operations.

A copy of this note will be transmitted to the SkateMail and PuckMail lists after we meet with you. We will also transmit this note to the press. We know that, because of the prominence of its location and the unique nature of the business, this announcement will result in some media and general public attention, to say nothing of the responses from regular customers. We have decided it is best to publicize the real details surrounding our decision to list the property for sale and cease operations. If you are questioned by anyone, please just refer him or her to this note. Any speculation or rumors about our reasons for making this decision will not be true because you have just read the facts.

[mdvask8r]

Thanks Agnes. I was just coming back to post that memo.

Yes, I think synchro would be a great help. I wonder if they have thought about that. The university does not have a rink, nor does JMU in Harrisonburg. JMU is just now venturing back into hockey, I believe on an intramural level? There are some individuals exploring the feasibility of building a facility in Harrisonburg. If both schools were to field hockey programs and synchro programs, they are close enough geographically to consider sharing a facility that could also serve the public.

[AgnesNitt]

What I learned from my experience with Fredericksburg, is that some (maybe all) malls charge rent as 'monthly fee, plus percentage of the gross'. That makes it almost impossible to make a profit. As was explained to me, rinks that make a profit are big barns of places operated in the middle of nowhere. This is alluded to in the memo above.

The other thing that I've seen suggested is to have an after school public session to bring adults and kids in on a regular basis--not just the home schoolers. I look at some of the rinks in DC that aren't pure hockey rinks and they have mid-week evening adult sessions and really early morning freestyle.

It's my understanding that Capital Playhouse in LaPlata MD went totally hockey and lessons. It's reachable from my office, but no way to get privat lessons.