Country Club (rink) exclusivity question

[Query]

I was looking into an ice rink that is located inside a (Golf) Country Club.

You can only skate there if you belong to the country club. The staff person who answered the phone can't or won't quote the membership price.

Membership is by invitation only, you need two sponsors within the club. Huh???

Is that is normal at country clubs? Is it normal at any other ice rink?

It's not as though they have a predictable schedule. They let figure skaters come when no hockey club rents the ice.

Wow.

[FigureSpins]

Yes, all of that is normal at a private country club.  You didn't know that? All of the CC's have similar rules. 

It doesn't matter what other ice rinks do, it's a private country club and they set their own rules.  They have no competition other than other country clubs - this is a feature of membership, like a driving range or waterslide/pool.  The CC's in NJ with ice rinks have a head pro - call back and ask for his/her contact information.  That person might be able to give you more details.

Just FYI: most clubs have a long waiting list and require a membership initiation fee up front along with an annual fee.  You would have to join as a member, even if you only want to use the seasonal ice rink.  Some clubs allow guests, but you would have to find one willing to skate at the same times as you since they have to chaperone their guest(s) at the Club.  Some CC's offer a golf-only membership with no clubhouse rights or other amenities, but I don't know if any offer a rink-only option.


The hockey club is probably renting the ice through a full member.  If you could get a local skating club to do the same, you could organize an ice dance session.

[jjane45]

Exclusivity sounds normal for a country club. Guess whatever facility they decide to build would also follow the same rules.  (FigureSpins beat me to it)

I wonder if the private clubs that own their rinks have very different rules?

[Query]

Most of the rinks I know of struggle to find enough customers. Maybe golf is different.

Or maybe the people who belong are very, very rich.

[FigureSpins]

Most of the rinks I know of struggle to find enough customers. Maybe golf is different.

Or maybe the people who belong are very, very rich.

Of course the members are wealthy.  Most of them can write off the membership as a business expense since they entertain clients at their Club.  The rink and the pool, etc. aren't expected to be in use 24/7 - it's not an income-producer, it's just part of the overall package.  Think of it as an extension of their homes - some might not have a pool at home, so going to Club takes that role.  They don't expect to be paid for its use at home, so why expect it at the Club.

You don't understand that this is not a for-profit enterprise nor is it a municipally-run rink.  A Country Club is more like a condo association - the members are sort of "owners" of the Club; that's what the initiation fee provides - they usually buy a bond in the Club.  The CC is not looking to turn a profit on the rink because any monies they take in get reinvested in the facilities.  They're supposed to break even or save up for repairs and upgrades.

A private, standalone ice rink has to make more than they spend just to stay in business.  Otherwise, they'd go bankrupt.  They have no other assets to draw from to pay the bills.  They also have higher expenses: food stands, vendor rental space, electronic systems and cash machines, etc.  Not to mention marketing and promotions.

Municipal rinks are dying off or being run by third parties because of the growth in privately-owned and operated ice rinks.  They made ice rinks into a real business; prior to this, ice rinks were just a cool feature of a park, run by the Parks Dept, to entertain the taxpayers.  Admission fees were low and rentals were cheap. 

With tight government budgets, entrepeneurs approach the Park & Rec leaders and say "Hey, I can increase your income if you hire me to manage the rink."  It's very attractive to have more income to offset expenses or even turn a profit.  The monies allocated from the budget for ice skating can go to other needs if the rink can cover its own costs.  That's why figure skating is dying: it's much cheaper for an ice rink to rent out their ice to a hockey club for eight hours a week than to run public or freestyle sessions.  No skate rental, no collecting money, bare-bones facilities, little to no staff - it's easy money and makes the "manager" look good on paper because the revenue goes up.  The problem is, they don't check to see if they're providing the service to their constituents as they should.

Figure Skating in Harlem brought this issue to light last season.  They wanted to rent more ice time at their municipal rink but it wasn't available because several pre-school hockey teams from outside the area reserved huge blocks of time.  FSIH argued that they should have first choice of ice because they were a local organization serving the families paying for the rink. 

[Skittl1321]

My parents belong to a country club for golf.  It is "exclusive", and you do have to be sponsored, but it is rare for someone who expresses interest to not find a sponsor.  The sponsor is more to make sure the person becomes integrated into the club.   It is neighborhood related- so I think most don't write it off as a business expense.

However, I was shocked to find out that everything "included" in the club, you still have to pay for!  You pay a huge membership fee, and then that just gives you the ability to pay a huge amount to play golf, and a not-cheap amount to eat at the club, use the spa services, etc.  (I think pool, tennis, trivia, and the gym are "free")

The rink at the club in question just exists for the club to add another offering.  They aren't looking for customers, the club board decided they have enough interest in the club to offer it.  The ROI for them is that the club members are happy with the club, and continue paying dues.  Even if they never use the feature, the members will be happy to think they COULD use the feature.

[SynchKat]

I skate at a private club and that sounds about right.  And just for the record we aren't very, very rich, it just makes sense to belong to this club because it is local, I get LOTS of ice time and they have amazing program's for my son, we were at the pool this morning and were the only ones!

With our club you just find one sponsor and they will help you find a second one.  They want more members, it is better for the club.

In the summer the ice is open for non members.  Lots of kids will come skate for the summer and then if they want to stay they have to join the club. 

So ya that seems to be the norm.  The benefits although are great, usually you get lots of ice time, the ice is nice and the rinks are usually fairly warm.  I love our rink. 

[Query]

Thanks for all the info. Interesting food for thought.

Some community-run rinks and parks are like condo associations - recreational facilities are part of a community's identity, and people fight to keep them. AFAIK, no public rinks within 100 miles of me have privatized.

If I had management experience, I would try to convince someone to let me manage a local rink, most of which (public and private) could be better run.

[SynchKat]

Query-you can probably call the membership person and get a tour of the club you were looking at and they will give you the membership info.  I know at our club you can get the membership info, including fees, just by asking at the front desk. 

Here we basically have privately run rinks and the city run rinks.  The city run rinks are so busy and it is next to impossible to rent ice as new contracts.  Well unless you want to go to a horrible area.  The private rinks always have competitive rates and are so easy to get ice at.  And in fact my synchro team rents ice from the club I belong to because they rent out their Sunday ice.

This was kind of a disjointed way to say go and be nosey and check out the club, they might have a lot to offer to you along with skating at a nice rink.