CCP 06-24-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I indicates that an additional three girls' varsity and four girls' junior varsity programs are expected to be added for 1996197. One district without a current program indicated that it is I- planning for a girls' teams in the near future. The addition of three currently non-existent programs would create a demand for 420 practice hours of ice time if each team uses 140 hours and varsity and junior varsity practice concurrently. An additional 140 hours for home games for three varsity and four junior varsity programs would be needed. If "near future" is I assumed to be the 1997198 school year, an additional 160 hours for practice and home games would be needed. I Current usage of ice reflects the constraints of both availability and budgetary restrictions. Several districts indicated that they would have no budget to increase ice time even if it were available. These districts currently have a boys' and girls' program and use 100-130 hours per I program. Five districts indicated that they would purchase additional time for existing programs if it were available. If each program expressing an interest in additional time, but not currently using 140 hours were increased to that level, there would be a demand for an additional 160 hours of ice time for existing programs. I In addition to the time required by school programs, development of new and growth of existing feeder programs for girls' teams can be expected. MASC has projected an increase of I 13.5 feeder teams across nine combined community programs for 1996/97 and an additional 7 for 1997198 for a total increase after the second year of about 620 ice hours. The total combined additional ice time that can be expected as a result of the addition and I growth of girls' programs for school teams and community teams and expansion of existing high school programs is 1,340 hours in 1996/97 and 1,500 hours in 1997198. I. Local Associations. Local associations are the largest users of available ice time for most local arenas. Their support of local hockey programs in particular is marked by high levels of energy and commitment and an enviable ability to raise funds to assist young skaters by reducing the I cost of their programs. The well-documented current shortage of available ice time plus local associations' ability to either charge their participants directly or raise funds to offset costs lends credibility to claims that if you build ice surfaces "they will come". The level of expansion of existing teams in response to the availability of ice time appears to be more constrained by I the number of participants and the number of hours that they can reasonably skate each week than by cost. I The local associations discussed generally in this section include Coon Rapids, Blaine, Centennial, Mounds View, Irondale, Forest Lake, and East River Hockey (Fridley & Columbia Heights). Existing local associations report a current usage of ice home and away of about 7,000 hours. There are different perceptions regarding the need for large additional amounts I of ice. Stated needed increases in ice time total approximately 1,330 hours; however, this figure in and of itself does not accurately reflect on the hours of ice time that would come to the quad arenas if they were constructed. Some of the expected additional hours are in I support of the growth in girls' teams as discussed above which reduces hours for expansion of existing programs by roughly 620 hours to 710 hours. Increasing populations and continued growth in popularity of the sport of hockey will result in incremental increases in the number of I team participants, but much of the additional time needed is for the expansion of existing programs. More telling than the projected expansion of use by existing teams, however, is the amount of I ice time that could be recommitted to the quad project from other arenas. The Mounds View and Irondale Associations currently rent approximately 1,600 hours of ice, primarily from Ramsey County rinks. It is reasonable to assume that if they have a financial commitment to I- the quad facility that their use of ice will follow. The Forest Lake Association uses approximately 400 hours of outdoor ice time, some or all of which could be moved indoors. I DRAFT REPORT 5/30/96 Page 4