City Pitches 5‑Year Skating Rink Contract

The city has tapped a Bridgeport-based management company with three decades of experience operating ice rinks to help turn the renovated Ralph Walker Skating Rink into a ​“wonderland of ice” starting this October.

The details of that planned new public-private partnership are included in a communication submitted to the Board of Alders Monday by city Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Becky Bombero.

The aldermanic submission outlines a proposed five-year contract between the city and a company called The Wonderland of Ice Associates.

The proposed five-year contract now advances to an aldermanic committee for a public hearing before being taken up by the full Board of Alders this fall for deliberations and a final vote.

Click here, here, here, and here to read those documents.

The city initially closed the East Rock skating rink in 2016 because of disrepair. After toying with the idea of shuttering the venue for good, then-Mayor Toni Harp launched a two-phase renovation of the rink.

The first phase included an expanded roof and ice length, new views of East Rock Park, new dasher boards, a new and more efficient compressor system and updated plumbing to service existing bathrooms. The second phase has included new locker rooms and a new concessions building.

Now, under the proposed agreement, Wonderland of Ice — under the name Skate New Haven — would operate and maintain the Upper State Street public skating rink and the adjacent Blake Field Complex concession area starting this October.

The company would pay the city $5,000 a month, plus 10 percent of net revenue from operations above $100,000 per year. The company would also pay the city 10 percent of revenue earned from concessions.

In exchange, the company would offer a range of ice-related programming, from skating classes to hockey classes to hosting hockey tournaments and birthday parties.

They would also sell coffee and bagels and popcorn and nachos and other food and drinks from the ​“Snack New Haven” concession.

And they would follow the rink’s fee schedule as laid out in the city’s budget.

In a cover letter for the aldermanic submission, Bombero wrote that the city hopes to have Wonderland of Ice in place as the new operator of the public skating rink by the beginning of the next skating season, in October.

“By way of background, Wonderland of Ice has over 30 years of experience in the industry, [and] manages both the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport and the Norwich Ice Arena,” Bombero wrote. ​“The company and its leadership team have a demonstrated knowledge of the industry and operations of community ice rinks. Pursuant to terms of this Agreement, Wonderland will do business as Skate New Haven, with responsibilities for the day-to-day management and maintenance functions, launching a comprehensive programming effort to include learn to skate, learn to play hockey, special events and tournaments.”

The ice rink will continue to be the home facility for Albertus Magnus College’s hockey team, per an agreement the city inked with the local Dominican Catholic college in 2018.

“In its simplest form, with the exception of the refrigeration plant, Skate New Haven will be fiscally responsible for the housekeeping, operation and maintenance of the facility and all necessary systems and equipment, related to the ​‘back of the house operations’ that are required to provide and maintain a top quality, saleable sheet of ice in a clean, modern facility,” Wonderland of Ice President and CEO Lisa Fedick wrote in a June 1 submission to the city’s request for proposals (RFP) for a new operator of the rink.

“Skate New Haven will then program and sell the ice time and handle all related day to day ​‘front of the house’ operations.”

At the end of the 60-page of response, Wonderland of Ice offered a list of references, beginning with Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.

In that same RFP response, Wonderland of Ice estimates that it will make a net operating profit before taxes of $135,300 during its first year of operating the city’s skating rink. That’s thanks to an estimated $641,500 in revenue from ice rentals and skating instruction programs, and an estimated $506,200 in expenses on everything from staff salaries and benefits to utilities, insurance, and maintenance and repairs.

The proposed operating schedule for the rink would extend from Oct. 4 through April 10, with the following daily hours open for public skating:

For all weeks of operation except Dec. 24 through Jan. 3, 2022
Mondays: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Tuesdays: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Wednesdays: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Thursdays: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Fridays: 11:00AM – 1:00PM and 7:30 – 9:30PM
Saturdays: 2:00 – 4:00PM and 7:30 – 9:30PM
Sundays: 2:00 – 4:00PM and 7:00 – 9:00PM
Total: 20 hours per week

For Dec. 24 through Jan. 3, 2022 (open New Year’s Day)
Mondays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:30PM
Tuesdays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:30PM
Wednesdays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:30PM
Thursdays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:30PM
Fridays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:30PM
Saturdays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:00PM
Sundays: 12:30 – 2:30PM, 3:00 – 5:00PM and 7:00 – 9:00PM
Total: 42 hours per week