I love the Bowie Ice Arena. (Bowie, MD) It is arguably the best managed of the local ice arenas, in terms of ice surface quality, and available public skating time. It has been able to do so because it is subsidized by the City of Bowie.
It is also very nice because the area has multiple recreational and shopping facilities in the same area. E.g., the Bowie Town Center is a large shopping center - possibly too large to be sustained by local business alone. There is a nearby movie theater. Also there is a park that also hosts numerous concerts and has a pond where people rent boats, and there is a public gymnasium. All of these things exist in other areas near DC and Annapolis - but the proximity of the ice rink drew in a lot of business.
Unfortunately, as a fairly old rink that was repurposed fairly early on from an outdoor seasonal rink to a year-round indoor rink, it has become necessary to replace it.
So, the current rink was scheduled to be replaced by a two-sheet facility in the same geographic vicinity, and quite a lot of money has been spent on building it. Unlike the current facility, the two sheet iceplex is projected to take in more revenue than is required to run it.
However, many local politicians have decided they have other priorities. Not only do they want to stop construction, but they will pay fees because they will be cancelling contracts, and they will probably have to pay back bonds. They will forfeit about 8 million dollars of construction and other costs, not counting construction costs that have not yet been submitted to the city. The politicians are probably counting on the fact that, since the rink has closed since the pandemic, most people who use the facility will not learn of the problem, and will be unable to complain in time to affect the results. They are scheduled to discuss, and possibly vote, on the issue, this Monday.
See:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/ac-cn-budget-ice-rink-0513-20200513-rsv2hritmnhuphsojtzaaes6yu-story.htmland
https://www.capitalgazette.com/maryland/bowie/ac-cn-budget-ice-rink-0513-20200513-rsv2hritmnhuphsojtzaaes6yu-story.html There is a petition of Bowie Residents to keep the project on track
https://www.change.org/p/bowie-residents-i-support-the-fiscal-responsibility-in-the-city-of-bowie-d3d3257d-54e7-4076-80b4-e8846f00a492?recruiter=1088414590&recruited_by_id=b3ce2230-93a1-11ea-a596-952c8f10c82b&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboardI have contacted the figure skating director, who is trying to organize interested parties whose email address she knows, and asked her what non-Bowie residents can do to help. I believe there should be a separate petition to be signed by non-residents. In particular, we should point out that when we (or our children) come to skate, we also use those local businesses, such as shopping centers, restaurants, gas stations, and hotels (for the traveling hockey crowd). Most of these businesses are now closed, though the governor has just lifted many of the local restrictions, changing us from a Stay-At-Home state to a Safer-At-Home-State, which may change that status for a few businesses.
It is reasonable to assume that this area, like most of the rest of the country, will suffer a long term economic recession. This will be made worse if one of the biggest draws to the area - the ice rink - is permanently closed. IMO, the rink is one of the most important somewhat unique facility that the area has, and they will suffer a greater downturn due to stopping the project, if the "forces of evil" prevail. Even the other area recreational facilities will see less business by parents and others seeking to be in the area for multiple reasons, including skating.
This comes at a time, due to the pandemic, when many other rinks in the DC metro area are being forced to consider permanent closure. E.g., at least one of the DC area rinks has lost its web page registration. Many rinks have allowed their ice to melt, and will take time to create new ice. The biggest multi-ice-sheet facility in the area, Gardens Ice House, which is privately owned, is considering renting itself out as a refrigerated morgue, which presumably means they will be unable to re-open until the bodies are disposed of, and after the facility has been very thoroughly disinfected. While there is a clear need to store those bodies until the funeral industry can keep up with the deaths, the knowledge that corpses were stored there might also create a major "Yuk" factor for some potential skaters. So, if Bowie manages to keep an operating facility once it becomes possible to open again, it may see more business than before.
Anyway, for local residents, please consider signing the online petition I referenced earlier. If you are not a local resident, and the figure skating director suggests something we can do too to encourage the city to continue to support the current project, I will post that here.