Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks Recreation Ice Facility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City to consider MOU with Rinks Foundation for privately funded three‑sheet ice facility at Kit Carson Park
Summary
City staff presented a non‑binding memorandum of understanding with the Rinks Foundation to begin public outreach and feasibility work for a privately funded, three‑sheet ice sports facility at Kit Carson Park, including a pledged $4 million toward relocating the park's adult softball complex and proposed lease terms if the project advances.
Escondido city staff on Monday presented a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rinks Foundation to begin public conversations about building a privately funded, three‑sheet ice sports facility at Kit Carson Park.
Deputy City Manager Joanna Axelrod told the council the MOU is intended to give both parties assurance to proceed with outreach and technical study. "This is just the beginning of the public conversation and a journey that will allow multiple opportunities for the community to provide feedback," Axelrod said.
Matthew Hicks, vice president of public affairs for the Rinks Foundation, described the proposal — to be called Escondido Ice — as a community facility for youth, families, adaptive athletes and competitive programs. Hicks said the foundation would fully fund construction, operation and maintenance, and that the proposal follows the Great Park Ice model in Irvine, which the presenter described as a large, multi‑use rink complex.
Why it matters: Escondido lost its longtime dedicated ice facility in 2020, staff said, requiring residents to travel outside the city for comparable ice programming. Staff argued a local multi‑sheet facility could expand learn‑to‑skate and youth hockey opportunities and bring tournaments and community programming to the city.
Key terms summarized by staff include a proposed 25‑year lease with five 5‑year extension options (potentially extending to 50 years), a designated share of operating hours reserved for public programming, and a non‑binding pledge from the Rinks Foundation of $4 million to help relocate the adult softball complex that would be displaced by the proposed site. Axelrod cautioned that construction costs are expected to exceed the softball relocation pledge and that additional budget and design work will be required.
Staff also said they had worked for more than a year with the California Department of Housing and Community Development and received concurrence that the project would be exempt from the Surplus Lands Act; that determination allowed staff to discuss the proposal publicly.
What happens next: If the council approves the MOU, the city plans to launch a project information page and host two initial community meetings (June 9 and June 13) to gather input before any lease, entitlement or environmental reviews. Staff said a lease agreement and more detailed project timeline would be brought to the council for consideration later this summer.
The transcript of the presentation shows the parties framed the proposal as conceptual and contingent on lease negotiations, environmental review and community input; the meeting record provided does not include a council vote on the MOU.
