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District proposes three‑year Winter Garden rink renewal and to eliminate some gate fees for fall sports
Summary
District staff presented a three‑year Winter Garden ice‑rink renewal with higher rates and a new $2,000 per‑team locker‑room fee, and proposed removing admission fees for boys/girls soccer and field hockey this fall to reduce costs for families; the committee favored a trial and will refer the items to the full board.
District staff discussed a proposed renewal of the Winter Garden ice‑rink contract and changes to athletic admission fees at the Sept. 4 Budget, Finance and Operations Committee meeting.
Staff said they pursued a waiver bid process and an informal market review and concluded that the Winter Garden remains the best local option despite a rate increase. The contract includes a new locker‑room fee for exclusive seasonal use set at $2,000 per team; staff compared that with other local programs, citing Staples at about $5,000 per team and some regional rinks at roughly $9,000 per team for exclusive seasonal locker use.
Staff also noted the contract renewal is for three years rather than the five‑year terms used previously, which they said provides more flexibility to revisit terms earlier.
On athletic admissions, the athletics director (referred to in the meeting as Dave) recommended eliminating gate fees for boys and girls soccer and for field hockey for the coming fall season. Staff reported district gate receipts are projected at about $55,000 across all sports, while last year boys soccer, girls soccer and field hockey combined generated roughly $6,396. The budget already includes $2,700 to staff gate collection for those three programs, leaving a small net of about $3,696. Staff said increased facility rental revenue this summer (about $7,500) could offset the reduced gate receipts.
The athletics director said removing the fee would align Ridgefield with peer schools, reduce a barrier that may keep students and families from attending, and support the district’s stated mission to lower the financial burden on families who already pay participation fees.
Committee members (including Tina) signaled support and asked whether attendance would likely rise if fees were eliminated; the athletics director said he expects attendance to increase. No formal vote was taken; staff said both the Winter Garden contract and the athletics‑fee proposal will appear on the full board agenda for Monday.
What happens next: staff will provide updated rate comparisons for the Winter Garden contract and the full Board of Education will consider both the contract renewal and the gate‑fee proposal at its next meeting.
