Park City Ice Arena General Manager Amanda Angevine told the Park City Council Nov. 5 the building urgently needs upgrades.
“The ice arena has been experiencing water intrusion on the east side of the building for many years, despite several different attempts to correct it,” she said.
The arena also has capacity issues.
Angevine said demand for ice sports has grown over the years, especially with the National Hockey League coming to Utah and the 2034 Winter Olympics on the horizon. She said skaters get on the ice at 5:30 a.m. and the arena is booked until after midnight multiple nights a week.
Base repairs for the arena would cost about $3.3 million. That includes excavating the hillside, adding drainage improvements and waterproofing and building a small off-ice training space.
The city also looked into larger expansion options.
Adding a community room and improving the locker rooms, parking drop-off, and water systems would cost an additional $3 million. Building an NHL-sized indoor ice sheet with training, locker and other support spaces would add $31 million to the total price tag.
Scott Later from MHTN Architects said a larger expansion could also come with additional parking.
“Adding 30 new stalls, a potential drop-off area, even improving the front door presence,” he said. “That could be thought of as both a gateway to the ice rink as well as a stop point for the soccer fields.”
The council was open to the largest expansion but does not want to bear the cost alone.
Angevine said about 15% of ice arena users live within city limits, and 41% are from the Snyderville Basin. Councilmember Tana Toly said the basin’s recreation district and the Summit County Council should support an expansion.
“It cannot consistently always fall on Park City, especially considering that the county has almost three times the users that Park City residents do,” she said. “If we can find other ways and we can, you know, all come to the table, then yeah, all for it.”
Basin Recreation helped build the facility in 2006 and contributes to ongoing expenses. Director Robert Parrish said he would be more than happy to provide expansion funds. However, voters rejected the district’s $71 million bond to fund other recreation facilities.
“Even looking at the growth that we have coming in the district, my facilities are undersized as well,” Parrish said.
Still, he said there may be other funding avenues as the Winter Olympics arrive in 2034.
Councilmember Diego Zegarra suggested the city broaden funding sources, especially as residents request pickleball and curling facilities and a new senior center.
“I'm very curious about the role of philanthropy and specific user groups or even external partners when it comes to us considering these large-scale projects,” he said.
City staff will collaborate with the county to explore funding options. It’s unclear when ice arena upgrades will return to the council.
Park City Municipal is a financial supporter of KPCW.
