$50 million ice rink (Spokane, Wenatchee: school, tax, price)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Really? Spokane Valley is considering spending $50 million dollars of the tax payer's money to build an indoor ice skating rink? Because it will bring in tourists?

"Oh please, let's go spend our week's vacation in Spokane Valley because they have an ice skating rink!"

I don't think so. Surely no one chooses their vacation based upon the existence of an ice skating rink. Maybe they will go to see a professional hockey team which Spokane Valley hasn't any chance at all of obtaining, but nobody plans a vacation just so the kids can spend one afternoon skating around in circles for an hour or so.

Isn't there anything more important that the area needs where the $50 million dollars could be better spent?

[509]

That is the going price for indoor skating rinks.

Wenatchee spent 66 million in current dollars for their rink.

The mistake they made is not getting the state of Washington to fund it. I guess we have nobody rich enough in eastern Washington to declare a state wide emergency that Spokane Valley doesn't have a indoor skating rink.

[mistyriver]

Sounds great to me. I’ll use it.

[fy10fyr]

As reported in the news, they're in the early stages of exploring the possibility of building it, nothing has been decided, nor is anything even close to being decided. And it's not "just so the kids can spend one afternoon skating around in circles for an hour or so."

According to the news story, a main focus is for rec league hockey, which suffers from a shortage of available ice in the area.

If the citizens of Spokane Valley want it and are willing to pay for it, good for them. Skate away.

[MechAndy]

When I was younger the local mall in CA (Sun Valley Mall) had an indoor rink.
it was fun to go skate inside there.
The rink closed down because it wasn’t a good investment.

We also bounced back and forth to Germany when I was young.
The school would just flood the football fields for ice rinks.
We would be able to use them anytime and even into the night.
They still do this because it doesn’t cost much.

$50,000,000?
They must have a lot of extra money.
Well I don’t care as long as it isn’t costing me.
I wonder where they got all that extra money from ?

[SusVelo]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/tech...ey/ar-AA17dWgm

"Anytime you start to get serious about whether you're going to include something in your strategy and implement it, you need to look at where the funding is going to come from," Estes-Cross said. "And that hasn't been identified yet."

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Really? Spokane Valley is considering spending $50 million dollars of the tax payer's money to build an indoor ice skating rink?

Originally Posted by SusVelo

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/tech...ey/ar-AA17dWgm

Soooo... doesn't sound like "taxpayer's money" is paying for this, especially if you didn't have a chance to vote on it. Just trying to stir up controversy where it doesn't exist, or what?

And it's been a few months now, so is there any more information? As a former figure skater myself (with a hockey-playing brother too), I think it's a nice addition to any town.