Kids Appeal to Fresno City Council About the Future of the Ice Rink

Children were some of the 300 plus people appealing to the Fresno City Council today to work to find a solution to the possible closure of the only ice rink in town. The owner of Gateway Ice Center presented a proposal for the City to purchase the ice rink or, he says, he will close the rink on April 30 of this year. City Council members have faced a barrage of media attention as the children and families most affected by this decision-- figure skaters and junior hockey players--have busy getting 16000 petitions signed to "Save the Ice" for Fresno.

Council members heard over 2 hours of statements by coaches, parents, and the children who use the rink. The children included Special Olympians; figure skaters; and youth hockey players who were all at times overcome by emotions. One young hockey players tearfully told the council "hockey is my heart and soul" and his way to make friends. Another player described his hockey "family" and said he now has an extra 13 brothers and one sister (all teammates).

Other speakers pointed out that Fresno would be the largest city in the United States without an ice rink, as compared to other cities that have from 1 to 20 rinks, many municipally owned. Council members were asked to consider using money from the Parks and Rec budget to help build Fresno an ice sports complex.

Another group that would be affected by the closure of the only ice rink in town is the Fresno Falcons professional hockey team with the ECHL. While games are played at the Savemart Center at Fresno State University, the arena is not available for the team to practice in due to University activities and Gateway is the only practice rink in town.

The City Council listened and then replied back to the emotional testimony. City Council persons stated that they would consider finding a solution to keep ice sports in Fresno, but they were not interested in purchasing Gateway. They chastized the owner, Mr. Glassman, for "using" the children to help him get rid of a "failing" business. Mr. Glassman has stated previously that the ice rink is not a huge money maker, but does not operate in the red. The Council did challenge the owner to "donate" the ice rink if he was dedicated to keeping ice sports in the City.

Now that the City Council has said they will look into finding a way to keep ice sports in Fresno, will the owner of the rink delay his April 30th deadline as he said he would? The kids here today certainly hope so.