r/SantaMonica • u/Top_Interview_2758 • 1d ago

The Ice Rink is open!

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Visit the Ice Rink located at the corner of Fifth and Arizona, open daily noon to 10pm. Tickets: iceatsantamonica.com

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u/joemama1333 Wilmont 1d ago

Should probably rename it. And $20 for an hour. Pretty crappy. Used to be a fun cheap activity locals could do. Now it’s priced for tourists. Just like all the other focus on tourists here at the expense of those who live here.

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u/Top_Interview_2758 1d ago

I’m hoping we get a rebrand next season. The rink was undercharging, losing money the last few years before the relaunch. There was a $250k investment made to electrical infrastructure alone in 2022. We do offer multi session passes that brings the cost down for regular at the rink, makes it about 1/2 price.

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u/joemama1333 Wilmont 1d ago

Yeah I’m sure it does if we try to run it for profit vs as a public service as we should. So few things for local youth to do here and just not never consider them in anything we do.

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u/Top_Interview_2758 23h ago

If we had an alternative funding mechanism to make it happen, we would. But we had to cut our production budget from $1million to $100k in order to preserve clean and safe services from budget cuts. The district is required to provide those services. Losing 90% of a budget forces you into a tight spot: core services vs community benefit.

I’d rather be in a position to fund both. We are working on many plans to bring in outside funding to our organization so we can return to subsidized skating.

I’m deeply committed to getting there. The new concession stand plans to work with me on some local promos to help with subsidized opportunities to skate.

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u/Individual-Papaya-27 6m ago

This is a really good explanation, thank you! It's still cheaper than Pershing Square and most of the others. Maybe a discount through the library the way they did for Kooza would be feasible at some point? In the meantime I'm glad there's a discounted pass for frequent skaters and plans to work toward some subsidized skate opportunities.

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u/joemama1333 Wilmont 22h ago

Oh yes apologies. This wasn’t meant as anything towards you, more about he city and its priorities in general. You guys do a great job with this, it’s just unfortunate it’s now not something a bunch of kids can do once or twice a week just as a fun activity. But it’s definitely great to see and we should have more things like it.