Town of Vail provides a windfall for additional ice rink to operate during Dobson remodel
Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club plans to use on the new facility while Dobson Ice Arena undergoes a massive, $55 million remodel
Ben Roof/For the Vail Daily
The Vail Town Council, on July 15, had a closed-session discussion about its current arrangement with the Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club and came out of it with a decision in mind.
And with the stroke of a pen, (and a unanimously approved budget appropriation), the council enabled the so-called “Rodeo Rink” idea at the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo venue “to shift from a temporary rental to a long-term investment in a high-quality, covered ice facility,” according to the Rodeo Rink campaign, providing “reliable winter ice access during Dobson Arena’s closure and laying the foundation for expanded seasonal programming for years to come.”
The council’s approval of a $156,000 grant and an additional $300,000 reimbursement grant was made specifically for the Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club, money which the club plans to use on the Rodeo Rink facility while the town’s Dobson Ice Arena undergoes a massive, $55 million remodel.
“We’re really grateful for everything that Dobson’s going to be, but also that we found a way to gap that bridge with you all,” Slade Cogswell with the Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club told the council.
Specifically, the funds from Vail will allow the Rodeo Rink campaign to secure the tent that will contain the ice, but the investment “is about more than a tent,” said Vail Mayor Travis Coggin. “It’s about protecting access to ice for our entire community for years to come.”
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In accepting the funds, Cogswell thanked the council on behalf of not just the Mountaineers, but the entire skating community in Eagle County, as many more ice users will benefit from the addition of the Rodeo Rink.
Many users
The Vail Mountaineers Youth Hockey Program is one of the legacy users of Dobson — the program is celebrating 50 years this year — along with the Vail Skating Club, which has been around for almost that long, as well.
But there are many other ice users in Eagle County, including all of the Vail Recreation District and Mountain Recreation learn-to-skate and other skating programs, the Mountain Select local hockey program, the Vail Yeti, the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy hockey program and the local high school hockey team. There are also four women’s traveling hockey teams based out of the Vail area, as well as several other private groups that use the ice.
“The purchase of the tent ensures higher-quality ice, reliable scheduling, and eligibility for sanctioned gameplay and tournaments, solidifying the Rodeo Rink’s role as a critical third sheet of ice in the valley,” according to the Rodeo Rink campaign.
Dobson is expected to remain closed throughout this coming winter season, as well as next summer and fall. When it closed in April, the pressure could be felt right away on the only other ice rink in Eagle County, the Eagle Ice Rink. That facility stayed open a couple of weeks longer than it normally would to host the annual Skating Club of Vail’s annual spring figure skating show, as well as a Women’s Association of Colorado Hockey tournament, events that would have normally taken place at Dobson.
Among those most relieved to see the Rodeo Rink completed will be Sheryl Staten, the Eagle Ice Rink’s manager, as her two-person staff has been scrambling to figure out how it will accommodate all the additional user groups next season. Staten plans to have the Eagle Ice Rink open earlier than usual — hopefully by Sept. 15 — to accommodate hockey tryouts and the Skating Club of Vail’s fall season.
“We’ll close the pool on Labor Day and right away we’ll start making ice,” Staten said of the Pool and Ice Rink facility. “Our estimated operating hours will be from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.”
The Rodeo Rink, then, should be open by late October. In addition to the Vail Mountaineers, it will serve figure skating, adult leagues, learn-to-skate programs and public skating.
More funds needed
While the town of Vail’s contribution provides a much-needed windfall, more funds will be required, the Rodeo Rink campaign said in a press release.
“In making its commitment, the Vail Town Council issued a public challenge to other municipalities to join them in investing in this regional asset,” according to the release. “Specifically, they called on the other towns to collectively contribute $100,000 in additional support.”
Coggin said by working together, the towns of the valley can get the Rodeo Rink project across the finish line.
“We’re proud to lead the way on a project that benefits the entire valley, as well as giving us flexibility with Dobson Arena, and invite our neighboring towns to join us,” Coggin said.
The Rodeo Rink campaign launched in May and has already found approximately 250 donors and $475,000 in funds, with multiple matches completed and major support earned from Eagle County, Mountain Recreation, many local businesses, the Vail Recreation District and the town of Vail.
“This project is being led by a strong coalition of partners in addition to the town of Vail, including the Vail Mountaineer Hockey Club, Eagle County Government, Vail Recreation District, Mountain Recreation, the adult hockey leagues, Huskies Hockey, Skating Club Vail, Power on Ice and the valley’s entire ice user community,” according to the release.
Those looking to support the Rodeo Rink can also purchase a Vail Rotary Duck, as 75% of those contributions are being donated to the Rodeo Rink when you select the Rodeo Rink as your beneficiary of choice at VailDuckRace.com. A Rodeo Rink wine and spirits fundraising event has been scheduled for August 13 at the Eagle-Vail Pavilion, as well, with tickets available at givebutter.com/RodeoRinkTasting.
