Save the Bridgepointe Ice Rink

The Fight to Save the Bridgepointe Ice Rink Continues!  

We need your help NOW more than ever.  PLEASE CONTRIBUTE.

We have had many wins (prevented the demolition of the rink, helped secure two unanimous Planning Commission votes against the developer's proposals) and now we have another big win because of all of you! On April 18th,  the City Council unanimously voted to deny the developer, SPI Holdings, their proposed land use change. The land use designation remains an Ice Rink!

We must do everything we can to maintain our momentum and get this rink up and running for our community.  SPI says they will never reopen the ice rink. They are relying on dubious legal claims that they do not have to operate the ice rink to meet the city's requirements, even though the City Council mandated the rink as a community benefit when Bridgepointe was originally approved.  SPI also says they are entitled to replace the rink with other recreation, even though their suggested uses are unlikely to comply with the legal restrictions and therefore are unlikely to be approved by the Planning Commission. We must continue the legal fight for what is right: an operating ice rink.

Though we have found excellent pro-bono legal support from Andrea Gothing and Li Zhu of Robins Kaplan, we still need funds to leverage the expertise of our land use attorney, who is essential in helping us reopen the ice rink. The City Council voted to keep the ice rink zoning, but we need our legal team to continue to  fight for the rink to be reopened.  The City Attorney refuses to say that the closed building without ice is a violation of the city mandate for a community ice rink. Please donate what you can to help us with the land use attorney’s expenses and other expenses associated with fighting this aggressive developer who has very deep pockets.  Thank you.

Here’s the current status:

Following the unanimous recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council unanimously voted for the community and against the developer, SPI Holdings! In a 3-0 vote on April 18th, the City Council denied SPI's request to change the land use designation from ice rink to retail and allow the rink to be demolished. But, the City Attorney has refused to consider legal challenges to SPI's questionable closure of the rink. SPI claims that the ice rink does not need to be in operation to meet the City's mandate for the ice rink as a regional recreation center! A rink sitting empty is not a "community benefit." We are continuing to push for the rink to be reopened as soon as possible.

We are up against a formidable developer with near limitless resources, who stands to make tens of millions of dollars if the land use restriction is changed. SPI has hired high-priced attorneys, lobbyists, and PR professionals to convince the city that it has no means of reopening the ice rink.

In May, the rink will have been closed for 3 years.  We have won many battles since the rink closure, but the most important one is next: reopen the ice rink. We need your help to continue to fund legal expenses to fight this aggressive developer. We are a group of volunteers who are spending many hours on this cause, and we must have legal advice, especially when it comes to complicated land use policy issues.

Please contribute whatever you can to our fundraiser – please consider $100 per family that skates, even if you have given previously. Many have given up to $1000! Please give what you can to help us save the rink for our community! All funds support professional legal advice and other direct expenses associated with this effort.