Sacramento Press / Skaters hit ice in Midtown

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STORYLINE Holiday Business

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A crowd is slowly growing at the holiday ice-skating rink set up in Midtown this year.

The number of people skating at the rink's temporary new location was initially small after the rink opened a week ago on a half-block of 20th Street next to J Street. Numbers began growing the closer it got to the start of the holiday season, said Rob Kerth, executive director of the Midtown Business Association.

MBA found a new location and sponsors for the rink to replace the rink usually set up at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K streets, in front of Westfield Downtown Plaza. The park was renovated and a Carnival of Lights is being held there this year.

The Midtown rink is hoped to bring in $200,000 toward the $250,000 cost to run the operation. Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn provided $5,000 from his discretionary funding. MBA raised $50,000 in sponsorships and ad revenue to make up the difference, Kerth said.

People can rent figure skates for $2. Those who need to sharpen their own skates can call the rink's manager to arrange sharpening with a mobile skate sharpener. They can also get their skates sharpened at Iceland Skating Rink.

All-day parking is available for a holiday rate of $5 at a two-story garage at 1161 20th St. During the day, 120 spaces are available and 200 spaces are available at night. Parking also is available for $6 at a lot at 2220 J St. The rink expects to offer $6 valet parking soon if the city approves bagging two parking meters on J Street, outside Peet's Coffee and Tea, according to the MBA.

The rink will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The rink will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas, and open at noon on Christmas day.

Two to three hours of skating costs $5 for kids and $8 for adults. To get skates sharpened or for more information, call the rink at 752-4644.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff writer for The Sacramento Press.

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jgb1mookie

November 28, 2009 | 07:54 AM

Very sad that the city did not get any feedback on this project from the residents that live next to it prior to building it. I live 22 steps from the rink. Notification to the residents that the street was closing came 2 weeks to the day AFTER the street actually closed. Construction when it was being built started at 5:30 am (that is hammering, generators, power saws, etc.)---not very conducive to sleep, especially on saturday and sunday. Parking just from closing the street became a nightmare and now with skaters added to this, is impossible. And the location means residents have to go 5 blocks out of the way every time they want to get home because J and I streets are one way and I street is not a through street. During second saturdays, residents were issued specal parking permits. this is going on for a few months and no special permits are being offered to the residents. As a former northerner, I like the idea of a downtown rink, but 1 block south (between L and K) would have been MUCH better: no immediate residents to have to deal with constant noise and music, better traffic flow, less parking impact, better walking since the street is not as narrow, less visual pollution--the big tractor trailor across the street truly ruins the nice tree-lined neighborhood view, and only 2 businesses would be blocked instead of the 6-10 that are in the current block. Why did the rink have to be built at the expense of changing the the whole character of the street?? Not a good plan folks.!

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savemidtown

edited on November 28, 2009 | 10:12 AM

Thanks to the first commenter for the real story on how Midtown Business Assn continues to treat the residents who make up 60% of their customer base like garbage. I guess MBA doesn't have to follow long standing city ordinances re: construction noise to not begin before 7:30 AM. MBA is not known for thier outreach - in fact they're well known for not giving any regard to the people who live here. It is residents & businesses together that make Midtown great, not just them. The current city manager gives no regard for the people who actually live here either so sadly none of this is any surprise. MBA has done no parking mitigation. We walked by yesterday and saw the huge mess - thank MBA & City of Sacramento for continuing to treat Midtown residents like refuse. MBA member businesses need to know their board of directors is not winning them any favors from the residents who support their businesses. For the $250,000 price tag, the rink is small and utterly unimpressive and hopefully the large expense means it will return to downtown next year. St. Rose is a much better venue with plenty of parking and fewer residents in the immediate vicinity. East Sacramento has many blocks near the commercial parts of J Street and around Mercy that are resident only parking 24 hr and 1 hour in some area until 10 PM. It is time for Midtown residents to take a stand and Demand the same.

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bbbbmer

edited on November 28, 2009 | 12:54 PM

Y'all SHOULD demand at least courtesy, if not an actual voice, from the MBA. As a nonprofit business association, at least a portion of their meetings must be public. And you can always send your concerns to Steve Cohn, or perhaps petition against this sort of thing in the future.

The closure of 20th is an absolute EYESORE if approached from the K Street side...and does NOTHING to enhance the area WHATSOEVER...

I agree that St. Rose of Lima seems an IDEAL place for such a use, and I seem to recall that there is a reason it didn't happen this year at that particular site. I hope this is only temporary, because not only is the site suitable, but it helps, albeit in a small way, with the quality of life around the Westfield Downtown Plaza...

One of the reasons projects like this get 'fast tracked' is because Steve Cohn and KJ want to do everything they can to 'accommodate' the developers of the MARRS project, Mark and Mike, who have bankrolled their respective campaigns.

It might even be good for y'all to coalesce and run someone other than Cohn for City Council next year -- there's a lot more animus against him than is evident by his press, especially in the areas around Mercy, McKinley, and now, Midtown, for reasons very similar to your own...

Good luck...

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William Burg

November 28, 2009 | 02:40 PM

The rebuilding of St. Rose of Lima Park would not have been finished in time to set up the rink, thus the temporary change. Part of the redesign (including a hard surface for a portion of the park that will be a fountain in summer) is intended to facilitate the rink in winter. This is a temporary fix--and probably a good experiment in the meantime. Even a failed experiment can produce valuable results.

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StellaM

November 28, 2009 | 12:08 PM

I happen to love the skating rink and I make a point of going every year. It is such a bummer to hear all the problems it is creating in Midtown this year. I hate to think that something that should be a fun/good community amenity has been put in place with no regard for residents. I don't know if I'll go this year--I won't be able to enjoy it as much knowing that the people who live nearby are so heavily impacted.

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josefinamarie

December 28, 2009 | 12:06 PM

I'm sorry for the impact on neighbors, but it's great to see kids and families having healthy fun downtown. We dragged my 8 year old nephew away from World of War (or whatever) violent videogame he was obsessed with and got him on skates. He was wobbly, but eventually found his legs and had a blast. He asked to come back the next day. I love the rink...only wish it were a little bigger. Thanks, Peets, for the hot chocolate and the free tastes of frozen yogurt from Yogurtagogo.
I like this location!

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STORYLINE Holiday Business

Skaters hit ice in Midtown

by Suzanne Hurt, published on November 27, 2009 at 10:44PM