Brief History of the Rink

and Its Closure

 

Please read this letter to the San Mateo Planning Commissioners.

It outlines the history and why keeping a rink in San Mateo is a crucial recreational asset for the community.

 

The Bridgepointe Master Plan developed by the City of San Mateo in the late 1990's for the redevelopment of the Fashion Island Shopping Center included a mandate that the developer keep the ice rink; everything else was torn down.

 

The new shopping center became what is now Bridgepointe. Before the rink was even reopened, after agreeing to the terms of the redevelopment plan that mandated the ice rink be one condition of being allowed to build the Bridgepointe development, the then-developer petitioned the City of San Mateo to be allowed to turn that ice rink into three retail stores instead.

 

There were several meetings of various city entities, including the City Council, regarding this request. The City of San Mateo commissioned the Sedway Group to present a report on the viability of keeping the ice rink in the plan.

 

The Sedway Group's report said that the ice rink was indeed viable given it pay a rent that was reasonable for an ice rink, and they came up with a rent schedule based on the rent paid by the other ice rinks in the area.

 

The City Council did allow a small modification to the wording of the master plan, and that was the inclusion of the phrase "ice rink or similar recreational uses" instead of only "ice rink".

 

The definition of similar recreational uses adopted by the City Council says, "Any alternative facility proposed on the site of the existing ice rink building shall be of similar size, shall serve a variety of ages and both sexes and shall be designed for active sports recreation, subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission." 

 

Bridgepointe had the 4th largest group of adult hockey leagues in California -  behind Sharks Ice, LA Kings Toyota Center ice rink, and the Anaheim Ducks ice rink. Our adult skating program was growing and flourishing to the fullest, offering adults the opportunity for recreation in the early morning, lunch times, as well as late evenings - seven days a week.