ATTN Dallas Area Players

[GLUhipfan 0]

The Fair Park Coliseum has recently been renovated into a ice rink. One of the goals of the non-profit organization running the rink is to promote ice hockey to the inner-city kids that might not be able to play otherwise.

To that end, if you've got old gear lying around, you can drop it by the rink and donate it so it can go to outfit kids when these programs get off the ground. I did that today when I went to skate. Personally, I think it's better to free up the space and contribute to a good cause rather than hold on to old gear you're not really using.

The address is 1438 Coliseum Drive in Dallas if you need to get directions. You might want to call the rink manager at the number listed on this page to make sure someone's there to accept donations before making the trip.

[donkey87 0]

Is the rink there permenantly or is this for a limited time?

[awall 0]

The Fair Park Coliseum has recently been renovated into a ice rink. One of the goals of the non-profit organization running the rink is to promote ice hockey to the inner-city kids that might not be able to play otherwise.

To that end, if you've got old gear lying around, you can drop it by the rink and donate it so it can go to outfit kids when these programs get off the ground.

I think its all well and good to promote ice hockey, but I must wonder if the people who are organizing this realize how expensive a sport this can be? I spent a small mint to get good gear last year and already had to buy a new bag. Free gear gets you stuff that may fit well, but what are the chances that those free skates are ever gonna fit right? After the young up-and-comers get their gear, how are they gonna pay for ice time, skate sharpenings, or team costs?

I also have to ask, does Dallas even have an inner-city? We've go poorer neighborhoods scattered about but nothing I would call an inner-city. I also have to question how those poor kids are gonna get to the rink? I'd love to see the looks they'd get if they tried to get all that equipment on the local Dart bus.

I'm not trying to be mean and rude, but from this information it sounds like someone with a "bleeding heart" came up with an idea and really didn't think it though.

[jason37 2]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...2.187223f4.html

Planners hope revitalized skating rink turns into the cool place to hang out

12:09 PM CST on Thursday, December 15, 2005

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

David Deering's dream of bringing skating back to Fair Park becomes reality today – not as grand as he once envisioned, but as solid as ice.

 

SMILEY N. POOL/DMN

Jim From makes sure the ice is just right at the Fair Park Coliseum before skaters lace up tonight. The rink had been without ice for a decade. The 34-year-old Lakewood software salesman has been working for three years on the Fair Skate Project, a nonprofit venture to open a regulation-size ice rink in Fair Park Coliseum, which hasn't had ice for a decade.

He was able to raise only $200,000 of the $2.5 million he once projected, and that meant jettisoning plans to renovate the surrounding structure. But the ice rink will open to the public after a private party today.

"We were green," Mr. Deering said of his effort. "It was a lot harder to raise funds for an ice rink than we thought. It's not like we were out trying to fund a cure for cancer."

The plan calls for offering free skating to children through schools, churches or neighborhood groups, supported by fees paid by hockey clubs and private rentals.

It will be the only regulation-size rink open to the public within the Interstate 635 loop.

Among those taking advantage is St. Philip's Episcopal School and Community Center.

Though ice skating is foreign to many of the students, it fits the South Dallas school's educational approach, headmaster Terry Flowers said.

"St. Philip's has a track record of exposing young people to nontraditional sports such as lacrosse and fencing," Dr. Flowers said.

The program will start simply – with 5- and 6-year-old students.

"We'll start by teaching them to skate, and at the point where they can stand up, then we can start in on hockey," Dr. Flowers said.

 

SMILEY N. POOL/DMN

Project organizer David Deering, seen through the glass at Fair Park Coliseum, wasn't about to put his dream on ice when he faced fundraising setbacks in the revitalization effort. Instead, he scaled back the project.

The students will be no worse on the ice than the project's founder.

"I can't even skate," Mr. Deering said. "Well, I can skate, but I can't skate well."

He came up with the idea to revitalize the rink, not out of love of skating, but for love of Fair Park.

Mr. Deering, whose father was on the park's board of directors, said he came up with the idea of opening a rink as a way to revitalize the coliseum and draw more visitors to Fair Park, which is underused during the months it is not hosting the State Fair of Texas, he said.

Fair Park had been the scene of ice skating for decades, much of it in what is now the Poultry Building. And the coliseum saw professional hockey from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s.

As a cost-cutting move, the ice-making equipment will be the same that was installed nearly four decades ago by the Blackhawks.

"They bought it in 1968 – used," said Jim From, Fair Skate's vice president of operations. "We don't know how old it is."

New equipment could have cost $500,000, but a Fort Worth company promised it could rehab the existing equipment for about a tenth of that.

It may be enough, however, to fulfill the goal of a more lively Fair Park.

Craig Holcomb, executive director of the Friends of Fair Park, said officials believe the ice rink could mean 300,000 more visits to the park each year.

[Drewhunz 3]

The Fair Park Coliseum has recently been renovated into a ice rink. One of the goals of the non-profit organization running the rink is to promote ice hockey to the inner-city kids that might not be able to play otherwise.

To that end, if you've got old gear lying around, you can drop it by the rink and donate it so it can go to outfit kids when these programs get off the ground.

I think its all well and good to promote ice hockey, but I must wonder if the people who are organizing this realize how expensive a sport this can be? I spent a small mint to get good gear last year and already had to buy a new bag. Free gear gets you stuff that may fit well, but what are the chances that those free skates are ever gonna fit right? After the young up-and-comers get their gear, how are they gonna pay for ice time, skate sharpenings, or team costs?

I also have to ask, does Dallas even have an inner-city? We've go poorer neighborhoods scattered about but nothing I would call an inner-city. I also have to question how those poor kids are gonna get to the rink? I'd love to see the looks they'd get if they tried to get all that equipment on the local Dart bus.

I'm not trying to be mean and rude, but from this information it sounds like someone with a "bleeding heart" came up with an idea and really didn't think it though.

Fair Park IS the inner city.

[Deathmoves 0]

The Fair Park Coliseum has recently been renovated into a ice rink. One of the goals of the non-profit organization running the rink is to promote ice hockey to the inner-city kids that might not be able to play otherwise.

To that end, if you've got old gear lying around, you can drop it by the rink and donate it so it can go to outfit kids when these programs get off the ground.

I think its all well and good to promote ice hockey, but I must wonder if the people who are organizing this realize how expensive a sport this can be? I spent a small mint to get good gear last year and already had to buy a new bag. Free gear gets you stuff that may fit well, but what are the chances that those free skates are ever gonna fit right? After the young up-and-comers get their gear, how are they gonna pay for ice time, skate sharpenings, or team costs?

I also have to ask, does Dallas even have an inner-city? We've go poorer neighborhoods scattered about but nothing I would call an inner-city. I also have to question how those poor kids are gonna get to the rink? I'd love to see the looks they'd get if they tried to get all that equipment on the local Dart bus.

I'm not trying to be mean and rude, but from this information it sounds like someone with a "bleeding heart" came up with an idea and really didn't think it though.

Every little helps. I think who ever came up with the idea is doing a good job! At least he is giving them the chance. Stop being so negitive.

[donkey87 0]

The problem with the idea is how do you attract player to Fair Park? With all the Star Centers it is going to be hard to draw players to the middle of Dallas.

I am curious as to how the ice will be.

[GLUhipfan 0]

As far as I know, the rink is intended to be there permanently, but if it loses money, they might have to shut down. I skated there this weekend. The ice isn't great, but it's not nearly as bad as you'd expect it to be. The only real trouble spots of the ice itself I felt were along the boards (ice needs to be built up there) and right behind the nets (big puddles). Still, I've actually been on worse ice at the Starcenter in Plano. The glass is missing or broken in places, and the boards are very thrown together looking. At this point, you can't really use the dressing rooms since there's concrete in between them and the rink. There's a carpeted area near the rink to put your skates on, but I'd keep skate guards on there. Despite all this, it's a cool place to play. It has a very old-time barn feel to it.

How do you attract players to Fair Park? How about renting the ice at a cost less than the Starcenters or ITC? Plus, one of the goals is to get kids playing that wouldn't be playing because they don't have the option. They also could tap into the commuter market catching players that work in downtown Dallas after they're off work.

The people doing this know precisely how expensive the sport is. Why do you think they're asking for people to donate old gear rather than outfitting everyone themselves? Because they spent all their money just getting the rink open. Honestly, why complain about it? If it gets just one kid to the point where he's playing hockey instead of going down the wrong path, isn't it worth it? If you start these kids early enough, there'll probably be a few kids that get sponsored to play on travel teams if they're good enough. I'll give away old gear I'm not using to a "bleeding heart" to give these kids a shot; no one's asking anybody to run out and buy a set of gear. It's better than having old gear just gathering dust and taking up space.

I'm not an emplyee of the place, and really it won't impact me a lot if this venture fails since I'm in Plano. The ice coordinator is a really nice guy, and I'm just trying to help him out. If it offends your sensibility, don't give. But what would it hurt to unload old gear for charity?

[Jim A 4]

dod you know how much they are charging for ice?

[GLUhipfan 0]

No, I don't have the numbers on their ice costs, but I don't see how they can charge near the cost of the other rinks because they don't have support facilities in place (I could be wrong though!). I think they mentioned evening drop-in is $10, which is a few bucks cheaper than other places. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a price since I skated as part of a group that made a big gear donation and so got on to the ice before normal hours for free. You can call the number at the page I linked in the original post to find out, though.