Teams, parents lobby to keep Centre Ice Rink open

After learning the Delaware State Fair ice rink would close in eight months, groups that use the facility met this week with a fair official and were set to meet with the governor’s staff Jan. 30, as they lobbied to keep the facility open until another is built in the region.

Chris Parks of Lewes has played hockey since 2017 in a coed league on the Big Oyster team. He also has two sons who play for the Delaware Raptors. He said parents quickly began organizing, setting up meetings with fair and state officials, and taking to the phones to complain to their state representatives. Leaders have been updating parents and players daily.

“The initial reaction was shock, and then anger and confusion as to why,” Parks said. “Then it became action after that.”

Kristyn Clifton, the mother of a Delaware Raptors youth hockey player, said her group met Jan. 27 at the Delaware State Fairgrounds with fair General Manager Danny Aguilar.

“He said there would be more information available in 48 hours,” Clifton said.

But Aguilar said Jan. 30 that ongoing financial losses at Centre Ice Rink, and the need for more investment in equipment, prompted the decision to close, and he does not expect it will be reversed.

“We need to move on,” Aguilar said.

“We’re meeting with groups and organizations to work through details,” he said. “I think at this point, the closure is still planned for the May 17 date.”

With one compressor out of service and another not working well, warm weather may move up the closing, Aguilar said.

Representatives of the Raptors and the Warriors, a veterans hockey team, were scheduled to meet Jan. 30 with the staff of Gov. Matt Meyer to discuss the closing.

“We are trying to learn as much as we can about the issue,” said Mila Myles, director of communications for Meyer. “We know this is a valuable asset for the community.”

Myles said the issue is complicated by the fact the ice rink is not technically a state-owned facility, and decisions are governed by the state fair board.

“I’m sure they are going to have solutions and ideas,” she said of the rink users. “We are going to meet with stakeholders to find a path forward.” 

Centre Ice Rink offers public skating and, in addition to the Raptors, is home to a men’s ice hockey league, a figure skating league and others. It is also home ice of the Salisbury University ice hockey team. 

The groups that use the rink asked state officials to keep the rink open for two years, until another facility can be built in the region. They received word of the planned closing in a Jan. 23 telephone call with a state fair official, and the fair announced its decision to the public the next day.

A petition posted on change.org calling for the rink to stay open had been signed by 4,878 people as of Jan. 30.

Efforts are underway to open a multipurpose facility called Dover Civic Arena in central Delaware. The plan includes an ice rink. Organizers of the Dover facility scheduled a Thursday, Feb. 6 meeting with groups using Centre Ice Rink to see if they can be accommodated at the planned Dover rink, Clifton said. 

The rink has required $500,000 in emergency repairs since November, and $1 million in additional work is needed in the coming years, according to the fair board. The board said it had considered every option possible to keep the rink open, but none were possible.

The building will be converted into a multi-use event center for agricultural events, community gatherings, and concert and youth programming. It will also serve as a location for musicians, comedians, artists and other performers.

Organizers said they will continue fighting to keep the Centre Ice Rink open to allow time for a long-term solution.

“It’s disheartening and we’re all angry, but it's mostly about the kids,” Parks said. “A lot won’t play hockey or figure skate again.”