Winterhurst Arena May Lose Ice Rink Tenant In 2018

Updated: An earlier version of this article featured an inaccuracy about ownership of Ice Land USA.

LAKEWOOD, OH — The Serpentini Winterhust arena may soon be looking for new tenants. Mayor Mike Summers told attendees at Thursday's Listening to Lakewood event that Ice Land USA, which currently maintains the ice rink and runs programming at the site, informed the city it may not renew its lease in 2018. However, Ice Land USA said Saturday that negotiations with the city to continue the lease are ongoing.

Ice Land is currently paying the city about $75,000 a year to use the arena. Summers said the company is competing against ice rinks that are being subsidized by other cities, making the playing field uneven and turning a profit difficult.

Summers told Patch his administration is exploring the intricacies of the ice rink marketplace, something they didn't know much about prior to Ice Land's complaints. Once a firmer grasp of market dynamics is obtained, the city will begin to reach out to citizens and try to get an idea of how important the ice rink is to the community.

"The question is what is the importance of the ice to our community. What are we willing to pay to subsidize it? Maybe nothing, maybe a lot," Summers said.

The city wants to know how many Lakewood residents are actually making use of Winterhurst each year. If local taxpayers are going to be asked to potentially subsidize the rink, how many residents will benefit? It's a question Summers said needs exploring.

If the answer is that few residents are making use of the rink, or few have a stomach for subsidizing the ice, then the city will explore alternative uses for the Winterhurst facility. That could mean any number of things, including indoor soccer. (Subscribe to the Patch Lakewood newsletter for local news and updates.)

"It's basically a giant fieldhouse," Summers said.

Another issue with losing Ice Land is the loss of revenue. Prior to the lease agreement, and the $75,000 in annual revenue from that agreement, the Winterhurst Arena was a money loser for the city. The lease agreement brought the facility close to a cost-neutral drain on municipal finances.

If there's an overwhelming show of support for the ice rink, and residents want to subsidize the facility, that could mean funds must be diverted away from other city projects like, say, the parks.

"We’ve made a lot of investments in our parks. They’re very popular. They’re used heavily. Would we have to distribute resources away from parks, for example?" Summers asked.

Whichever way the citizenry chooses to go, Summers has agreed to listen. That doesn't mean he's not disappointed over the situation.

"It's an unfortunate development and we're disappointed it's upon us," he said. "But it's here and we'll do our best."

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch