Desert Ice Castle - New Palm Springs Rink

[FigureSpins]

It was reported some time ago that Frank Carroll is moving to a new rink in Palm Springs, CA called "Desert Ice Castle."

Their website is up, but there's not much to see.
http://www.deserticecastle.com/

I thought they were supposed to open last month, but progress is slower than expected.

[JHarer]

How did I not know about this? Palm Desert isn't far from me at all. I was so sad when the old Ice Chalet closed out there in 2001. It's about time they got a rink again.

[FigureSpins]

Rumor has it that Lysacek is going to appear in their grand opening show, if he can get the time away from SOI.

Nice picture slide show here, showing a relaxed Frank Carroll:
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=J1&Date=20101213&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=12130804&Ref=PH

Sand-based rink, I guess because of the temperature changes in the desert?  (Or cheaper than concrete?)

[Isk8NYC]

Saw this on the ISI Newsletter: http://www.skateisi.com/site/content/enews/ENewsletter.html

Desert Ice Castle Opening Delayed

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - The scheduled late-April grand opening for Desert Ice Castle did not take place. The facility has faced a series of delays since announcing in April 2010 that it would open last October. The most recent delay is due to funding. Developer Anthony Liu is seeking a $100,000 loan from Cathedral City's redevelopment agency to help pay for a refrigeration unit. If the loan is approved, Liu will have five years to repay it. If the loan is not approved, he will have to seek funding elsewhere. The 15,725-square-foot facility is planned to accommodate public skating, figure skating, ice hockey and classes. Legendary coach Frank Carroll plans to use the facility.

Source: Desert-Sun Online

[Isk8NYC]

Looks like the developer will have to look elsewhere: the agency turned him down for the $100k loan.

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011105060355

[FigureSpins]

Apparently, they needed more time to consider the offer and put some conditions into place.

From mydesert.com:

Ice Castle given $100,000 loan to complete project

The developer behind a Cathedral City ice rink is getting a much-needed loan to complete his facility, but assistance is coming with strict conditions.

In exchange for the $100,000 loan from Cathedral City's redevelopment agency, Anthony Liu needs to put the Desert Ice Castle building at 68-600 Perez Road up as collateral.

He will have 18 months to pay back the loan, plus 7 percent interest.

"This is a no-risk loan," City Councilman Chuck Vasquez said during Wednesday's City Council meeting, where city leaders voted 4-0 to approve the terms of the agreement. "It's a plus-plus all the way around."
Councilman Greg Pettis was absent.

With the city on board, the facility could open before the end of 2011 "unless something exceptional comes up," said Michael Garren, director of marketing and public relations for the ice rink.

"We needed this (loan) to open sooner," he said.

The loan will go toward a refrigeration unit necessary for the ice rink. An existing unit has "mechanical safety issues" that need to be repaired, Garren said.
<snip>
A grand opening ceremony featuring professional ice skaters was planned for last weekend, and the City Council in February approved a $10,000 sponsorship for it.
Even though the sponsorship was approved, no money has been spent because funding still depends on whether organizers confirm details about the gala's date and anticipated guests.

[FigureSpins]

Frank Carroll mentioned this rink in passing during an interview last week, saying that the opening is now planned for Fall 2011.

[FigureSpins]

Excerpts from a Citizen-Times interview with Greg Pettis, a councilman in Cathedral City and chairman of the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC).  I snipped out the bits that applied to the ice rink.

The City Council voted Wednesday night to spend $100,000 to help the Ice Castle open. For a city wrestling with its budget, is this appropriate use of taxpayer money?

This is a loan only, not a gift. I think it is important to make that distinction. Also, it is a market rate loan, meaning the city will be charging interest on the loan and at a rate higher than we get with our current investments. Additionally, the Desert Ice Castle building has been put up as collateral with no other debt against it. That is significant protection for our residents.

Normally, I would say that this type of loan would not be what any city should do. However, Cathedral City has participated in financial arrangements over the years with two other business ventures that have been highly successful, Big League Dreams and the Cathedral City Auto Center.

The Auto Center provides the vast majority of our sales tax revenue and is the largest employer in the city. Big League Dreams provides needed recreational opportunities for young and old alike, is a tourist destination and has been the catalyst for other businesses to come to town.

Desert Ice Castle is owned by a very successful man, Anthony Liu, who will bring a top-of-the-line recreation and training facility to the valley. Our families will be the long-term beneficiary of this and if Cathedral City is nothing else, it is about families.

You have voted for funding of several events — $10,000 for the duathlon, $10,000 for the grand opening of the Ice Castle plus $8,000 to have the city logo on the ice, and $20,000 for the Independent Music Summit. Will these turn out to be worthwhile city investments?

The Cathedral City General Fund budget has about $100,000 for marketing purposes. Some years we do not spend it and other years there are worthwhile projects that come forward. This is one of those years.

While I disagreed with the Council majority and voted against the logo under the ice, I did agree with the other decisions. We do not have major golf tournaments like the Hope or large tennis events as they do down valley, but we do have events and activities that can help in promoting the name of Cathedral City. The one's mentioned do that.

Full article: http://www.citizen-times.com/article/J1/20110516/OPINION01/105160307/Monday-Newsmaker-Pettis-says-train-track?odyssey=nav%7Chead

[Isk8NYC]

The rink is open!

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110827/NEWS01/108270321/Cathedral-City-NHL-style-ice-rink-finally-reality-skating-enthusiasts-across-valley

[JHarer]

Sept 9th is the opening date, if I wasn't going to be in Vegas I'd go check it out and report back to y'all.

[FigureSpins]

Sept 9th is the opening date, if I wasn't going to be in Vegas I'd go check it out and report back to y'all.

I think they're having some sort of a gala and Lysacek might be skating, so I'll post it - maybe it'll be after you come back from your trip.

[Isk8NYC]

Desert Ice Castle had their grand opening this weekend and the skating schedules are online.

Nice: freestyles 7 days a week.  http://www.deserticecastle.com/figure_skating.htm

Interesting: Elite skaters must be granted permission to skate by the "head coach." (Carroll?)

Hmmm: There are no hockey or speed skates allowed on a Freestyle session.


What is "School Sport?" http://www.deserticecastle.com/sports.htm

[hopskipjump]

I'm In CA an there are no speed or hockey skates on any freestyle.  I thought that was standard - that is why we pay more - figure skating only!


Oh elite skating is junior/sr skaters.  It's no place for my prepre kid! 

[Isk8NYC]

In NY, NJ, VA and NC, it's pretty common to see hockey skaters on freestyles, mainly for private lessons.  It's really a rink-to-rink situation, sometimes even a seasonal issue.  (ie. Figure Skaters only before big tests and competitions.)
Our Coffee Club session has a speedskating regular.  He does lap after lap after lap, but he's not bothering anyone.

I just thought it was odd that the high-level skaters needed permission to skate on freestyles.  Usually, it's the other way around: lower-level skaters need permission to skate on freestyles, usually beginning LTS levels.  I guess since they just opened, they haven't classified high/low freestyle sessions yet.

[dak_rbb]

I just thought it was odd that the high-level skaters needed permission to skate on freestyles.  Usually, it's the other way around...

I suspect it's not that the high-level skaters need permission to skate freestyles, but that permission is needed to skate on the "elite" sessions and they want to ensure only high-level skaters skate those sessions.

[FigureSpins]

Perhaps there are "secret" high-level freestyles since none are listed on the link.

[AgnesNitt]

The Skating School is pretty thin. No list of levels. I assume it's USFSA, but it would be ironic if it was ISI. And the rink only has two coaches listed.

oooh, oooh! Birthday parties! Birthday kid gets a ride on the zamboni, but $200 for just two pizzas seems high.

[Isk8NYC]

Bumping for kck

Now we know that this rink has nice, new Jackson rentals.  Are they the fabric ones or leather, kck?

They added to the coaching staff bios, but I'm sure there are lower-level coaches available as well.  The ones listed all seem to be high-level and I'm sure they need lesson coverage from others to allow them to travel with competitors.

New group classes start in January - $99/9 lessons; not bad.
What really caught my eye is the class drop-in rate: $15/class - that's a great idea for adults since their schedules often change due to family and work committments.  Also good to "try" a lesson.
http://www.deserticecastle.com/Jan_Feb2012.pdf

[AgnesNitt]

They have midday adult sessions! Just perfect for someone on night shift.

http://www.deserticecastle.com/adult.htm

[kck]

Next time I go ill have to get a picture of all the coaches on the wall. I remember some guy named Vadim because his name is awesome. I got a video skating there and a pic of the skates. I'll post em when i get on the computer, along with a review of the place.