11-09-2020-R - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

2 became a partner to the agreement and placed the initial $500,000 down payment for the construction of the large ice arena facility. The cities of Blaine and Coon Rapids were also part of the Master Agreement and contributed $500,000 toward the capital cost. The facility was then financed through a 25 year bond to be paid through annual ice rentals at the Super Rink. Each of the parties per the agreement also needs to guarantee the purchase of 2,080 hours of ice time annually to ensure that there is sufficient revenue to pay the debt service and operating costs for the facility. The primary reason that the SAMN group entered into the Master Agreement and became part of this consortium was the strong interest in more ice time for the two youth hockey associations (Mounds View and Irondale) that serve our geographic area. Based on this interest from the youth hockey associations, the four cities and Ramsey County also entered into a Supplemental Agreement with the two associations to establish a $300,000 escrow account that could be used to cover any ice rental shortfalls that might occur during the term of the agreement. The escrow account, which was funded entirely by the youth hockey associations, has grown to $400,000 due to interest earnings. All interest earnings above the $400,000 amount is returned annually to the youth hockey associations. The City of Shoreview maintains this escrow account on behalf of the four cities. When the Master Agreement expires the escrow money must be returned to the youth hockey associations. The Mounds View and Irondale Youth Hockey Associations have now merged into one organization. Fortunately, due to the annual ice rentals from the hockey associations, the Mounds View School District, and strong ice programming efforts by the Super Rink staff, the Super Rink has always been able to meet its financial obligations for both debt service and operating costs. The SAMN cities have never needed to use the escrow account to meet its financial obligations. The two hockey associations receive priority use on one of the rinks as a result of the SAMN group's participation in this consortium. As noted earlier, the terms of the Master and Supplemental agreements will expire on December 31, 2023. The Super Rink facility is nearly 25 years old and there are now significant deferred maintenance items and other improvements that are necessary for the facility to continue to operate at a high level. Some of the improvements include a completely new refrigeration system that will meet current standards, replacement of the dasher boards, scoreboards, sound systems, and upgrades to the locker rooms and common areas in the building. These replacements and upgrades will require another major bond issue to finance the cost of the improvements. It is likely that the MASC will be seeking a contribution of somewhere between $500,000- $1,000,000 from it partners to help finance the improvements and continue as part of the consortium. The MASC is requesting that the current partners decide now whether they want to continue in the consortium so they can begin to develop plans for the future. They had originally asked that consortium members make a decision by June, 2020, however this date has been pushed back due to the COVID pandemic. Representatives from each of the cities in the SAMN group and Ramsey County met to review the history of the agreements and discuss whether there was interest in continuing as part of the Super Rink consortium. Since Ramsey County already operates a significant ice arena system, they did not have an interest in participating in the Super Rink in the future. Further, since none of the cities are currently in the ice arena business, they also indicated that they did not want to continue in the Super Rink consortium after the Master Agreement expires at the end of 2023.