10 Years Later, City Still Paying Rent at Ice Rink

Ten years after a skating rink was built on Royalton Road, the city continues to pay rent for residents to use the ice there.

Strongsville gives , operated by Ice Land USA, $275,000 a year in exchange for control of the ice at certain times.

The lease was controversial when the city signed it back in 2002, and Mayor Tom Perciak indicated at a recent budget meeting that it's still a sore spot today.

Perciak commented that he wants to end the lease as soon as the city is legally able to in 2017.

Council President Mike Daymut, who opposed the lease a decade ago, said the city has never recouped its investment.

"I don't believe we have ever received our money back or the consideration we were supposed to receive for basically subsidizing that facility," he said.

City Council voted 4-3 in 2002 to enter into a 15-year lease, at the urging of the late Mayor Walter Ehrnfelt, that would require Strongsville to pay Ice Land a total of about $4 million.

In return, the city would have use of the ice at certain negotiated times.

But those times didn't sit well with some city officials. 

Today, Strongsville controls the ice from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year, according to Recreation Director Bryan Bogre. It also has the facility for about 90 minutes each Saturday and Sunday.

During winter and spring breaks, and during the summer, the city has no ice time, he said.

Having use of the ice means "we can program whatever we want during those times," Bogre said.

Right now, the city offers open skating, as well as skate programs for home-schooled kids during the week.

"We tried to have some preschool programs, but they've never really taken off," Bogre said.

The city receives the skating fees paid by people who use the rink during city hours. Those amount to $50,000 to $60,000 a year, Bogre said.

Hoover Arena is home to the Strongsville Skating Club and to several local high school hockey teams, including Strongsville. The Lake Erie Monsters practice there.

The lease was a hot issue 10 years ago, with some complaining the city was subsidizing a private business. Daymut, Ward 2 Councilman Ray Haseley and former Ward 4 Councilman Mike Gallagher voted against it.

Siding with Ehrnfelt were Ward 3 Councilman Mark Roth, Councilman at large Joe DeMio and former at-large councilmen Pat Coyne and Jim Kaminski.

Daymut said the "very limited access" to the rink has always been an issue.

"I believe the lease has not achieved what was promised as far as benefits to the residents," he said.