Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "ice-skating rink"

Iceland to open: Free skating

2010-11-30T03:49:39Z

Volunteers and ice-making equipment were hard at work Monday turning ashes into an ice rink.

Debris from last spring's arson fire has long since been cleaned up. But efforts to lay down ice for the first time since Iceland burned just began Sunday night inside the thick concrete and rebar exterior walls that survived the flames.

The Kerth family, now operating Iceland as a nonprofit, hopes to be able to open a 13,500-square-foot temporary outdoor rink as soon as Thursday afternoon. Earlier this month, the city Planning Commission awarded a special use permit needed because of the potential noise now that the rink at 1430 Del Paso Blvd. will be outside.

A problem with the plan cropped up late Monday afternoon. At 4:30 p.m., Sacramento City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, whose district includes the rink, requested that the permit be reconsidered by the City Council, said Midtown Business Association Executive Director Rob Kerth, a former city councilman.

The lateness of her request means the item wouldn't be considered by the council until Dec. 14 at the earliest, and possibly not until January. That could keep Iceland from opening until it has a new roof – which would mean no skating this winter, said Kerth, adding neither Sheedy nor her staff contacted the family to discuss concerns.

The conflict may be a bonus for skaters. The Kerths plan to allow everyone to skate for free.

"I think we may just open on (Dec. 2) anyway. But we won't be able to charge for skating," Kerth said. "We can let our friends skate. Just so you know: We've got tens of thousands of friends."

A jar will be available for donations. The indoor rink charged $6 for kids and $7 for adults, plus $2 to rent skates.

Sheedy, who has been sick for several days, could not be reached for comment. Her staff refused comment.

To get to this point, individuals and local companies have donated time and materials. About 20 people worked over the weekend.

"It's thanks to the volunteers that it's going to be open again," said Terrie Kerth, executive director of the nonprofit, Sacramento Iceland. "We've had so many volunteers and we never could've made it happen without them."

Investigators have yet to catch the person who torched the 70-year-old landmark. The arsonist doused the interior and a stolen car parked in a back alley with gasoline. The car exploded like a bomb and ignited the fire, Kerth said.

Kerth's grandparents, Bill and Emily Kerth, opened the indoor ice-skating rink in 1940, next to their first business, American Ice Co. The ice company, built over an old well still in operation, was busy only during the summer. The indoor rink was opened to pick up some of the slack in the winter, said Terrie Kerth, who grew up at the ice rink with her five siblings.

She remembered the night of the five-alarm fire, when she and her siblings, including brother Rob, watched Iceland burn. They stared in shock as flames shot through the collapsed roof. The Kerth siblings vowed to reopen the rink.

"That was a sad day," Terrie Kerth said. "Even when we get this rebuilt, it'll never be the same."

Her mother, Jeanne Kerth, and aunt, Eva Kerth Brandt, own both Iceland and American Ice. The family had leased Iceland and American Ice to another operator, Chris Lord, in recent years. But the ice-skating rink was barely breaking even, and there was no fire insurance, Terrie Kerth said.

Nonprofit ice-skating rinks have been a trend in recent years. Such rinks have popped up in Washington, Montana and New York, and another is under way in Santa Barbara. The family had been considering making Iceland a nonprofit even before the fire so the rink could continue.

From now on, Iceland will operate as a nonprofit. The rink has liability insurance, but doesn't currently need fire insurance because there’s nothing left to burn. Renovations will bring the facility up to code, and they expect to get fire insurance, she said.

The skate rental shop has been set up inside a small shack rebuilt as a hockey dressing room just last February – about a month before the fire.

Inside, Kerth works at a makeshift office built from a donated a desk, chair and lamps. She's currently working on a fundraising drive to collect money for everything from a new roof and restrooms to doors and spectator bleachers. She's also recruiting people to sponsor new glass blocks for the front exterior. Donors' names will be engraved on each block, she said.

More work is under way at the rink this week. Porta-potties have been brought in. Small volunteer crews will build handicapped-accessible exit ramps and finish the top of the rail this week. About 400 pairs of skates will be cleaned and fitted with new laces.

The loss of the building's roof means the ice-skating rink will be open to the sky, wind, rain and other elements for the first time this year. But Kerth, who put herself through UC Davis by teaching ice skating, said skating outside promises to be a lot of fun.

A national figure skating competitor, the 61-year-old took first place two months ago in a freestyle category at the Ice Skating Institute Adult Championships. Free skating lessons will be taught for 15 minutes at the start of every hour.

The rink will be open weekdays, tentatively from 3 - 8 p.m. Weekend hours will be 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

They've already got 400 ponchos for kids and adults in case of light rain. The rink will temporarily close during heavy rain, Kerth said.

Rain won't be a problem for the ice. The indoor rink's pipes and the ice-making equipment next door survived the fire. A Zamboni will smooth the surface just like always. But the rink can only stay open until March, and that's only if the weather stays cool enough.

The family wants to put a roof back on the rink as soon as possible so the rink can again operate year-round. An architect is drawing up plans now.

"I'm hoping we can marshal enough forces to put a roof on next year," Kerth said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ice skating rink opens

2010-11-05T23:03:57Z

Sacramento's holiday ice-skating rink opened downtown Friday with fanfare and free skating.

About 120 screaming school kids joined Mayor Kevin Johnson, Assemblyman-elect Roger Dickinson and Downtown Sacramento Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault at a noon ceremony to welcome the Westfield Downtown Ice Rink back to St. Rose of Lima Park.

The capital's outdoor winter skating rink was built in Midtown last year during a $4.5 million renovation of the park at Seventh and K streets, the 700 block of K Street and a light rail platform relocation.

"I think the ice rink is back where it belongs," Dickinson told the crowd shortly before he, Johnson and Ault cut a big red ribbon at the rink's entrance.

With a yell, kids in skates blasted onto the ice – where Johnson's Special Assistant R.E. Graswich was already trying his luck by skating for the first time.

"That doesn't mean I can skate. It just means I'm floundering around," said Graswich, who wore a red and white, candy cane-striped tie for the occasion. "They make it look so easy on television."

Neither the mayor nor Dickinson joined him on the 7,000-square-foot ice rink. But students from Washington and Earl Warren elementary schools and Sutter Middle School were more than happy to. They and everyone else who hits the ice Friday skate free until the rink closes at 10 p.m.

This year brings a few changes to the rink, which is operating downtown for its 19th season. Ticket prices for two-hour sessions have been raised from $6 to $8 for kids and adults. Skate rentals will still be $2.

The price hasn't increased in at least six years. But the fee had to be raised after vendor costs went up, DSP Marketing and Outreach Director Lisa Martinez said.

Also new this year are training skates for toddlers and skating lessons. Private skating instructors Chris Kinzer, Carrie Clarke and Holly Thompson will be available for lessons at 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Saturdays. A half-hour lesson is $20 and three lessons are $50, according to DSP Events Manager Annie Stuckert.

People who own skates will need to get them sharpened beforehand, because the ice rink doesn't have a skate sharpener.

To offset the price increase, the rink will offer various specials, including Family Skate Night Tuesdays. One child skates free with each paying adult.

Except for Christmas, the rink will be open daily through Jan. 17, weather permitting. Hours are noon - 8 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sessions start on the hour.

One thing the ice rink doesn't have: training skates for adults.

"We don't, unfortunately," DSP Marketing Manager Megan Emmerling said. "But we do have lessons."

Lesson reservations must be made in advance by calling DSP at 442-8575. To contact the ice rink, call 442-5563.

Photos 1-3 by Kati Garner. Photo of R.E. Graswich skating by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Photographer Barry Wisdom returned Friday night to capture the shots below.

Skaters hit ice in Midtown

2009-11-28T06:44:12Z

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.

Midtown ice rink opens

2009-11-20T06:19:09Z

Rob Kerth has been getting plenty of Zamboni action the last few nights.

Midtown Business Association's executive director has been staying up late and going out in the early-morning dark to use the ice groomer to help create an ice-skating rink that opens at 10 a.m. Friday in Midtown.

"It's a tremendous amount of work to put up one of these portable rinks," Kerth said Wednesday. "I've been there until 4 in the morning at least five out of the last 10 days."

While most business association leaders might not even know how to spell "Zamboni," Kerth not only knows how to drive one, he owns one. And he has the license to drive it.

That's because until last year, Kerth owned Ice Unlimited, the company that built the holiday rink on a half-block of 20th Street next to J Street. Kerth and his father, William John Kerth, also designed 75 ice-skating rinks all over the country and on other continents as well.

The last rink they designed was at Squaw Valley's High Camp in 1990. The family also has owned Iceland Skating Rink since 1940.

The holiday rink was built in front of the MARRS Building this year due to conflicts at St. Rose of Lima Park, where a rink has operated every holiday for 18 years. The park was renovated and a Carnival of Lights is being held there this year.

Just two days before the Midtown rink was set to open, Kerth rushed to drop off sign materials at GW Print Media while Carlos Rios of Ice Unlimited scraped leaves off the new ice.

More than a dozen people helped build the rink and lay the ice. The project began Nov. 2, when the half block was closed. Skilled construction crews first built a wooden edge smack against street curbs.

They poured in gravel — 10 truckloads of it — and leveled it. Three-quarter-inch foam insulation went on top of the gravel to protect water mains and sewer pipes from freezing. A plastic sheet was laid on top of that and up the sides of the wooden edge, Kerth said.

Then, 69 pipes connected with u-bends on one end were laid. The 123-foot pipes were connected to headers or manifolds on the other end, Rios said.

About 1,800 gallons of saltwater is circulating now through three miles of pipes. Saltwater or "brine" is used because it freezes at a much lower point than fresh water.

The saltwater flows through bigger pipes into coolers inside a big trailer. That system chills the saltwater flowing out to 10 degrees, Rios said.

The saltwater warms up a few degrees outside, but the pipes stay cool enough to freeze the fresh water crews spray on the surface, little by little and layer by layer.

The water was sprayed from one end to the other and back again, forming layers until the ice is 4.25 inches thick. Most work took place between sundown and sunup, Kerth said.

The ice must be thick enough that a skate heel can't hit a pipe, Kerth said.

At 5,000 square feet, the 123-foot by 40-foot rink will be smaller than the St. Rose rink, which was 6,500-square feet.

Sponsors' names were set in the ice on mesh signs or around the rink. Major sponsors include Elk Grove-based Bell Brothers Heating and Air Conditioning, MARRS Building owner Heller Pacific, Harv's Car Wash, CBS13/CW31, California Pizza Kitchen and Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn.

The rink will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. all week. The rink will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Hours on Christmas Day will be noon to 6 p.m. Two to three hours of skating are $5 for kids, $8 for adults. Skate rentals are $2.

The street will be closed for 90 days. The rink will operate until Jan. 18. The rink can hold 200 skaters.

Locals have been talking with MBA about holding activities on a small stage at one end. Some have talked about a tropical hula hoop demo. Fire dancers want to perform next to the ice. Two traveling musicians have talked about informal sessions on Friday nights and other bands may play Saturday nights, Kerth said.

Security will watch the rink overnight.

"They're there to help people not get hurt," Kerth said. "This is not like ice in the Sierras. It is the slickest surface that can be produced."

Photos by Kati Garner. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Ice rink decision expected Wednesday

2009-09-15T04:52:55Z

The Midtown Business Association is expected to decide Wednesday whether to take on the financial risk to keep Sacramento's holiday ice-skating rink tradition alive this year.

The association is considering building an outdoor rink in Midtown this year to temporarily replace the seasonal rink at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K Streets. That rink won't be built this year due to conflicts with a park renovation.

Neighborhood input is welcome as the MBA board is expected to vote on the matter during its Monthly Board and Community Meeting, which is always open to the public, said Rob Kerth, executive director of the Midtown Business Association. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Sacramento Regional Transit District headquarters, 1400 29th St.

Four Midtown businesses have committed $10,000 total for the rink, which would cost about $250,000 to build, operate and promote from Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

"That's a lot of money," he said. "Times are tough. But we don't want the tradition to die, and we want to have fun in Midtown."

The MBA is contributing $30,000 and needs at least $20,000 more to make the rink viable. Several large corporations, including some in Midtown, are considering donating another $60,000. But that sponsorship may depend on where the rink is located, which would also be decided at the meeting, Kerth said.

The business association board is considering whether to take the risk on such an expensive event, whose success depends on factors including weather, attendance, ice quality and more. The board must decide whether to hire a contractor and agree to pay $191,000 to build and run the rink.

The rink must have 24,000 paying skaters to take in $190,000 in gate proceeds. Last year, the St. Rose of Lima park rink had only 18,000 skaters, Kerth said. Any money that's lost comes out of a budget for marketing and other events.

The Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association is considering sending at least one person to the meeting to represent residents' interests and concerns, said group co-chair Bill Burgua.

"We stand with other neighborhood associations to make sure that residential neighborhoods are not negatively impacted — in this case, by parking," he said. "No matter how much commercial is here, Midtown is still primarily residential. They have to be constantly mindful that this is not a central business district."

A renovation of St. Rose of Lima Park that is expected to be completed in November made a rink there impractical, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which will instead use the site in a Carnival of Lights event. The partnership decided that the time needed to build an ice rink and the potential for rain at that time could cause too many problems and limit operational time.

MBA and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership have been working together to possibly erect a rink in Midtown this year. One possible location would be on the street at 20th and J streets, between the Sacramento News & Review and a strip of new businesses in the Mars Building including Azul Mexican Food and Tequila Bar, Peet's Coffee & Tea, and Lounge on 20. Three other sites being considered include on the street at 18th and L streets, or vacant lots at 28th and J streets or 16th and J streets across from Memorial Auditorium.

During the MBA meeting, Kerth will also propose that the group "cobble together" $25,000 to match $25,000 in city funds that could help the business district take part in the Carnival of Lights currently scheduled for downtown and Old Sacramento.

The money would help the organization decorate more trees with lights for the event, which celebrates the Grand Electric Carnival held in Sacramento in 1895. Kerth will propose keeping Midtown trees lit all year.

The MBA will try to work with the city to change current regulations preventing trees from being lit year-round.

"It just would be too heartbreaking to have all those lights up in the trees and shut them off come Jan. 3," he said. "You'd be looking up there hoping they'd come back on next year."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

MBA, businesses discuss holiday plans

2009-07-25T19:40:00Z

Midtown — and its businesses — may be in for more comfort and joy during this year's holiday season.

In fact, some areas may start to look more like the North Pole than California's state capital.

Santa Claus might set up shop in Sacramento's hippest neighborhood. A Festival of Trees might light up Marshall Park. A holiday ice skating rink might take over an empty lot. It might even snow.

Key word here: might.

Those ideas fill a wish list drawn up by the Midtown Business Association (MBA), which believes such festivities could attract up to 50,000 customers during what's shaping up to be another dismal holiday spending season nationwide.

With the continuing recession, businesses and the business associations set up to help them are trying to find new ways to draw shoppers and revelers.

"We need to do some extraordinary things to hang onto these great businesses in Midtown," said MBA Executive Director Rob Kerth. "Times are pretty tough, so folks are getting creative."

Retailers, restaurants and other businesses rely heavily on sales between Thanksgiving and year's end for profits. While he couldn't name any businesses on the brink of failure, Kerth said he's worried a lack of holiday shoppers could lead to Midtown businesses closing.

"It's pretty safe to say that if Midtown has a bad holiday season, we're going to have some places go dark — particularly boutiques and retailers," he said. "If we lose them, there's no guarantee that, when times turn around, they're going to come back. If we let too many folks slip away, we could end up with too many vacant storefronts for years."

From a business standpoint, the 2008 holiday shopping season was the worst in decades. Some stores subsequently closed in early 2009.

July may seem way too early to be thinking about winter holidays. But MBA and many Sacramento businesses learned the hard way last year when an October start on planning was too late. This month, the association's tiny staff held meetings to start getting business owners and others on board.

Just how much of the wish list turns into reality depends on how much money and other support materializes. MBA estimates $50,000 is needed to finance the entire plan.

At the very least, MBA will deck out J Street with lights and holiday decorations used last year. From roughly 20th to 26th streets, they'll put lights on street lampposts or on trees on those blocks without lampposts. This year, they hope to light up three trees per block rather than two.

"It won't be the continuous coverage we want some day. But we'll keep adding to it every year," said Kerth.

MBA must also find business and property owners in those blocks willing to "host" a set of lights by supplying a power outlet from Thanksgiving to early January.

"The city doesn't have electrical power on the street. So we're always trying to find a place to plug these things in," he said. "Once we start to get a lot of lights out there, you get a pretty nice streetscape."

City crews make the old lampposts' electrical wiring ready for holiday lights. Much of the wiring dates back to the dawn of electricity and can be easily broken, said Kerth.

MBA is also proposing a tree festival for Dec. 5 and 6 to help turn Midtown into a regional holiday shopping destination. The staff is searching for Midtown businesses to decorate trees that MBA places in Marshall Park. Tree sponsorships range from $250 for a 6-foot potted cedar to $1,000 for an 18-foot sequoia.

If the idea gets enough business support, Santa would arrive at the park in a horse-drawn sleigh. Due to the Camellia City's lack of snow, the sleigh would glide down J Street on wheels rather than sled runners. But Santa Claus might make it snow — just in the park, and just for two days.

"He's putting in his orders with the weatherman," Kerth said, adding MBA has discussed the use of the park for this possible special event with some nearby residents. "This is in line with the what I understand their hopes for the park would be: family events that people from within the community and from without can come to enjoy."

After Santa finishes his duties in the park, he may then set up a workshop in a vacant Midtown building. Santa would read stories to kids while "elves" build wooden toys in the workshop. The toys would be given to charities, Kerth said.

A hardware store has offered to organize the toy workshop. Four building owners with currently vacant property in Midtown's core have offered space for the event.

"We want every one of them to be rented out to businesses. Hopefully all four of them will go away and we'll be looking for space again," he said.

The biggest event — and the one that'd require the most financing — is to build a holiday ice-skating rink in Midtown this year.

The downtown rink operated every Christmas for 18 years at St. Rose of Lima Park, which sits near the Westfield Downtown Plaza entrance at Seventh Street, won't be created this year due to park and streetscape renovations.

That outdoor holiday rink is a tradition Kerth would like to see continue. His grandfather built Iceland Skating Rink, which his mother and an aunt still own. The ice rink in the downtown park is named for his dad, William John Kerth, who is believed to have invented the ice resurfacer more than a year before Frank Zamboni developed his.

William Kerth also came up with the idea for the holiday rink. He suggested building a rink one day to his neighbor, Bob Thomas, then the director of the city's parks department.

MBA is working with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership to possibly erect the same size rink in Midtown this year. One possible location would be at 16th and J streets across from Memorial Auditorium. The rink would open around Thanksgiving and run through Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

But that all depends on whether businesses have money to invest in the strategy. MBA expects to hold another holiday planning meeting next month. The deadline for business sponsorship is Sept. 1.

"We're getting a big jump on it this year, so it gives us the ability to be creative," said Rob Kerth. "If we can raise enough money, I think we can make it, even though times are tough."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. She can be reached at 916-804-2856 or suzanne@sacramentopress.com.