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Residents urge BET to fund replacement of Dorothy Hamill rink, warn youth programs at risk
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Summary
Residents, coaches and parents told the Board of Estimate and Taxation that Dorothy Hamill rink has outlived its useful life, is not ADA compliant, and that delaying replacement risks collapse of youth and high-school hockey programs; some speakers cited task force findings and rising cost estimates.
Dozens of residents urged the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) to include funding for replacement of the Dorothy Hamill rink in the capital budget, saying the 55‑year‑old facility is unsafe, not ADA compliant and indispensable to youth and high‑school skating programs.
"Hamill Rink is beyond its useful life," Gabriela Feinstein, a Greenwich parent, said, adding that the facility is “literally falling apart, unsafe, and no longer compliant with building codes or ADA standards.” Coaches and league leaders told the BET the rink is the only public facility most Greenwich families can afford and that surrounding rinks cannot absorb the town’s demand for ice time.
Neil Rich, head coach of the Greenwich High School varsity hockey team, said closing the rink during replacement would “mean the end of Greenwich High School hockey” because neighboring rinks are at capacity. Multiple speakers—parents, PTA leaders and task‑force members—said the Hamill Rink Task Force conducted public meetings for nine months and recommended a "modified flip" approach that would deliver a new rink without shutting down programs for multiple seasons.
Some speakers pressed for more detail on costs and alternatives. Lucia Jansen told BET that the task force’s deliverables lacked a regional analysis of available ice time during construction and that cost estimates presented in task‑force meetings had grown from about $24,000,000 to a ballpark $40,000,000. A task‑force member noted that alternative sites such as Island Beach and Horseneck would add roughly $20,000,000 in flood‑mitigation costs and potentially require soil remediation.
Advocates also highlighted equity and affordability. A task‑force speaker said rates at private arenas can be roughly double Hamill’s, meaning that without a replacement Greenwich families would face higher fees or loss of access. Several speakers urged the BET to include the task force recommendation in the FY27 capital plan to avoid increased costs from delay and to preserve hundreds of hours of ice time used by school and youth programs.
The public hearing produced no formal BET vote on the rink; speakers asked the BET to direct funding and planning work that would let the project move forward in the capital budget timetable.
