By Julia Barcello
For the past nearly five years there has been public discussion around the Dorothy Hamill Ice Rink. Talks have centered on proposals, votes and public meetings. Through the town’s studies, planning documents and budgets consistency remained in the assessment of the facility itself.
The rink was built in 1971 and was slowly renovated throughout its life. Originally built as an outdoor ice rink, the structure needs severe upgrades.
In multiple reports from the Town of Greenwich, the rink’s physical condition and design no longer meet current codes. With the approved full-year budget for 2018-2019, Greenwich Parks & Recreation hired the architectural firm of KG+D to review the condition of the existing building. The KG+D report stated that the building does not meet the current programming requirements and the structure does not meet Building Code. The rink doesn’t comply with current Energy Codes nor Life-Safety or ADA Compliance and lacks proper ventilation. It also doesn’t reach the minimum requirement for public toilets.
Technical changes should be made to the ice surfaces and it will be extended by 15’ in length to meet the regulation size for youth and high school ice hockey (NHL) and figure skating.
Early estimations for renovation or replacement were consistently revised in later reports. The delay of the project has led to an increase in spending. First Selectman Fred Camillo explained that delaying the project means it will get more expensive. “As we’ve seen with other projects, when you push them down the road, unfortunately, they all get more expensive,” he said. “This one is no different,” said Camillo.
There was debate regarding how to rebuild the rink. Some preferred the option to ‘flip’ the existing rink, while others wanted it to be re-located to the Island Beach parking lot or the Horseneck parking lot, known as the Exit 3 options.
Luigi Romano, from Town of Greenwich Building Construction and Maintenance, stated that the flip would be the cheapest option. It would cost around $35.2 million, the ‘flip’ would cost $38.4 million. Both Island Beach and Horseneck sites would cost around $52 million according to cost estimates. The $3 million gap between the projects was due to the estimated cost of constructing a temporary rink while the current structure was being demolished.
Most recently, the task force has unanimously voted backing the new flip plan. The replacement rink will be built next to the existing one on the Sal Strazza Memorial Field in Eugene Morlot Memorial Park. This will allow ice programs to run during construction which is set to begin around 2027. The town hopes to open the rink to the public in 2028 but this may shift depending on approvals and funding.
