Rodeo Rink likely to be needed by ice users again next season, but getting it ready will cost $200k
New facility facing urgent funding deadline for 2026–27
John LaConte/Vail Daily
When Dobson Ice Arena closed down for remodeling last year, it created a serious crunch for the more than 1,500 ice skaters across Eagle County.
Ice users assessed what it would look like to concentrate all Eagle County ice activities on the last remaining ice sheet at the Eagle Pool and Ice Rink facility, and they concluded that the impact would be severe, with many programs unable to secure enough ice time to function effectively.
It forced the community to act quickly, and towns, clubs and private donors banded together to create the Rodeo Rink in Eagle, raising $1.2 million in four months and opening the new facility just as the skating season was starting Nov. 3. It then operated from 6 a.m. to midnight throughout the season, seeing constant activity.
In a presentation to the town of Eagle on Tuesday, Slade Cogswell with the Vail Mountaineer Hockey Club said the Rodeo Rink immediately started hosting between 1,000 and 1,500 user hours per week, bringing hockey teams from all over the state to Eagle.
“You can’t imagine a more optimized building,” he said. “Parking lot full pretty much non-stop.”
Support Local Journalism
But the Rodeo Rink was only meant to be a temporary solution, and with it now closed for the season, its future is uncertain.
Cogswell said with Dobson not likely to be open by the start of skating season next year, there will be a serious demand for the Rodeo Rink again in the fall. Getting it ready will cost about $200,000, he said.
That would fill the gap that’s likely to occur in November and December, but by the end of the season — with Dobson, Eagle Pool and Ice and the Rodeo Rink in full operation — Eagle County will get to see what having three ice sheets brings to the community.
What matters in your community, delivered daily.
Sign up for our morning newsletter at VailDaily.com/newsletter
“Men’s leagues used to have 20 teams, and we have like four teams now in our men’s leagues,” Cogswell said.
The shrinking participation from adults can be directly attributed to the increase in interest from their kids, Cogswell said. Youth participation in skating activities continues to grow every year, and the premium hours end up being used by those youth groups. That means adult leagues end up taking place after 10 p.m., discouraging participation.
“Just the idea of everyone getting better times, reintroducing more men’s leagues, bringing in more recreation programs, who knows?” Cogswell said. “Maybe we could even bring in a curling league.”
To get to that point, it will require another $1 million or so and “a group that wants to champion this alongside us,” Cogswell said.
But before any of that can occur, a determination needs to be made about what will happen with the Rodeo Rink in the immediate future. The area will resume its normal summer role as a rodeo grounds in June, and the rodeo could put the structure to good use, Cogswell said, housing animals or other rodeo-related equipment.
But that will require removing everything that’s in the facility now and installing garage doors so vehicles can drive in and out, something that Cogswell said is included in the $200,000 needed to keep the rink going.
“We only have a week to tell the county whether we’re keeping this around,” he said.
For more information on how to contribute, contact Katie Santambrogio at 970-376-7713 or katie@socialimpactadvisors.com.
