Since the Ice-Plex permanently closed in 2020, Escondido has had no ice rinks.
So when the Rinks Foundation proposed building a 3,000-seat ice arena at Kit Carson Park, it seemed like a perfect match.
The facility would serve as the practice arena for the San Diego Gulls and also house a restaurant and retail space. The three-rink complex would also be open for ice sports for local residents.
In June, when the Escondido City Council approved the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rinks Foundation to explore the feasibility of building at Kit Carson Park, residents were not happy.
“Conversations had been going on for actually several years (between the city) and the Rinks, in regard to this proposed project,” said Melissa Petri, one of the founders of the group Save Kit Carson Park.
She said residents were caught off-guard.
“This is a public-private partnership that they're asking for, and this should serve Escondido residents first, and not the Rinks or the Gulls or any third-party organization,” Petri said.
The Rinks Foundation is a nonprofit run by the billionaire owners of the San Diego Gulls and Anaheim Ducks.
On Wednesday, the group held a rally in front of Escondido City Hall to get their message across to the city council members. They want the city to keep the park as-is.
“They're proposing to put it in a location where we have existing softball fields,” Petri said. “We have four softball fields that are heavily used by the community. Adult leagues play there. Girls leagues play there, and baseball also overflows into those fields. They're heavily, heavily used fields.”
Under the proposal, the ice arena would replace those fields. The Rinks Foundation would pay the city $4 million to move those fields to a nearby park. But Petri said that wouldn't cover the costs.
“I have spoken with experts who estimate it to cost $8 to $12 million to actually rebuild four softball fields in an alternative location,” she said. “So that does not cover all the costs, and there's an extensive cost.”
Since the MOU approval in June, at least one city council member has changed their mind.
“Since we brought (the MOU) forward, the community has been in an uproar,” Councilmember Consuelo Martinez said.
She now said Kit Carson is not the right location for the project.
“I do want them to have a place in the city, but I would not support it being in Kit Carson Park,” Martinez said. “However, I won't be voting on that because I'll be out of office by then.”
In a statement to KPBS, a city spokesperson said the City Council directed staff in August to assess other city properties to see if they’ll meet the proposed project's needs.
Once that’s done, they will bring it to the council for discussion.
