Bloomington parks staff say Frank Southern Ice Arena needs major investment after gasket-caused ammonia leak

Parks staff told the Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners that the Frank Southern Ice Arena requires both near-term repairs and a community-driven decision on long-term investment after a March 10 gasket failure caused an ammonia leak and prompted evacuation.

Chris Ham, facility manager at the pools and ice arena, said the system alarm activated, ventilation kicked on, and staff evacuated patrons and called Bloomington Fire Department and Bloomington Police Department. A certified contractor, Deem, isolated the leak, pumped ammonia out of the floor back into the tank and declared the building safe. "The failure point was a gasket," Ham said, describing it as a routine rubber gasket failure rather than a catastrophic slab or design failure.

The report, presented as informational to the board, reviewed the arena’s history, community usage and financial pressures. Parks Director Tim Street said the arena serves roughly 60,000–65,000 annual visitors and that deferred capital investment means the facility is at a critical junction. Staff described the arena’s direct-ammonia refrigeration system, explained why the city is pursuing voluntary compliance with IR standards, and outlined a gap analysis with items to be remedied by the end of 2029.

Staff identified near-term safety and repair work (replacing failed gaskets, addressing items from the gap analysis and repairing leak-related damage) with a repair-cost estimate in the $30,000–$50,000 range. Non-administrative gap items (for example, tagging and added eyewash/ventilation switches) were estimated at approximately $15,000. Ham said staff use a certified ammonia contractor for inspections and operations and have a monitored alarm system and an emergency action plan that worked during the incident.

For longer-term options, staff presented three broadly scoped choices: 1) build a new facility (estimated at about $12 million-plus depending on scope); 2) replace the direct-ammonia floor system with a glycol-based indirect system (roughly $1.2 million but would still retain some ammonia on site); or 3) replace the direct-ammonia equipment with a modern ammonia-compressor system or other high-end upgrades (estimates in the $3–4 million range). Street emphasized that general-fund dollars are unlikely to cover full replacement and that staff will pursue naming rights, private contributions, grants, and partnerships.

Board members and staff agreed a stakeholder group should be convened including IU representatives, user groups such as Blades and figure skating clubs, rink contractors and community advocates to evaluate options and recommend a direction. Street said staff will continue remediation work required to reopen safely and will return with more detailed cost estimates and a public engagement plan. "We need public engagement," Street told the board, noting the next regular meeting is April 16 and that staff will report updates there and through stakeholder meetings.

The report was informational; the board did not take a final policy action on the arena’s long-term future during the meeting. The board and many public commenters asked staff to pursue both short-term fixes to reopen safely and a parallel process for evaluating long-term funding and partnership options.