Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recreation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Speakers urge Houston leaders to help save Memorial City Ice Rink as demolition looms
Summary
Skaters, coaches and youth athletes told the City Council they need help to prevent or delay the planned demolition of Memorial City Ice Rink, calling for an extension of operations and a public–private partnership to build a replacement.
Council heard repeated public pleas June 16 urging city officials to help preserve Memorial City Ice Rink or find a nearby replacement after owner Metro National signaled plans to demolish the facility.
Amy Goode, identifying herself as a Houston resident, hockey mom and founding member of the HTX Storm Girls Hockey Association, told the council the rink "has been used by tens of thousands of Houstonians over 20 years in operations" and is due to close in 44 days. "To see a rink that's thriving, profitable, and in good repair to be demolished with no plans for replacement is devastating for our ice sports community," she said, asking the council to deny permits or other actions that would hasten demolition and to explore options to extend the rink's life.
Fifteen-year-old skater Aliska Good said Memorial City's central location matters for training and access. "I'm not asking you to reopen the rink so that I can preserve my memories. I'm asking you to reopen the rink so that other children like me can make those memories," she said, urging the city to work with a newly formed nonprofit, the Houston Ice Sports Coalition, to develop a sustainable facility.
Mackenzie Noll, a figure skater who said she trains at Memorial City six days a week, asked council either to help negotiate a transition that preserves ice time or to partner on a replacement rink. Charlotte Noll told council staff that Metro National had proposed a public–private partnership for the property and asked whether any Chapter 380 or other incentive requests had been made, and, if so, what public benefits would be required.
Speakers described the rink's regional scarcity and economic barriers to replacement: "There are only 5 regulation size ice rinks in Houston," Goode said, and building a single-sheet facility can cost tens of millions of dollars, she told council. Multiple speakers urged the city to consider short-term measures to keep Memorial City operating while longer-term public–private planning moves forward.
Council members did not take immediate action on the requests during the session; several members thanked commenters and said they would review materials and follow up with the community.
