Once a favorite gathering spot of students, townsfolk and the hockey team, the Oberlin ice rink is now empty after a recent administrative decision to cease funding the facility.
The College decided to close the rink upon learning that the Lorain County Hockey Association (LCHA), who had leased the rink seven years ago, owed roughly $80,000 to various utility companies. As a result, the Oberlin ice hockey team is currently searching for a new home.
“It’s truly a shame that the rink is closed this year. I think a lot of people will miss the hockey team,” sophomore co-captain Chris Kelly said. “The problem is just being brushed under the rug by the administration and ignored for now,” Kelly said.
The administration became involved with the ice rink a year and a half ago after realizing the depth of its financial woes. After the city put the association on a budget plan the issue seemed to be settled. But two months ago, the administration learned that even after the budget plan had been implemented, the association had not paid any of its utility bills.
“I did not hear from Lorain County that the association was in debt,” Vice President of Finance Andrew Evans said. According to Evans, the College was taken aback when it received an $80,000 bill from the city, who assumed that the College was responsible for LCHA’s debt. Through legal transactions, the association’s lease with the College was quickly terminated and the ice rink was shut down.
In order to maintain the ice rink, the College would have had to pay an additional $250,000 in repairs and funds the administration was not willing to provide. Evans says the rink was in need of renovation and upgrading because LCHA’s maintenance of the rink had slipped as the association fell into debt.

Sophomore Trish Hinrichs, who frequently skated at the rink, said that although “the ice was okay for public skating purposes, it was in need of better care and equipment.”
The College maintains that it had leased the rink to the association in hopes that it would take over responsibilities and run the rink in a way that showed their excitement about the sport.
Although LCHA’s debt may have left the College with some messy legal problems, Evans maintains that the administration appreciates the association’s effort. “We were very happy to have the association run the rink,” he said.
Students’ reactions to the administration’s handling of the situation are mixed. Ice hockey co-captain Sarah Benjamin said that although the closing of the rink disappointed her, she understands that the school doesn’t want the responsibility of running the facility.
Although Hinrichs said that she, ideally, would have tried to find support for the rink in order to keep it open, she understands the school’s position. However, she does believe that providing a place for student recreation and exercise would, ultimately, be worth the cost.

Other hockey enthusiasts have voiced more outright criticism of the administration. “The administration has been very childish. They need to just mature, make a decision and go on it,” Kelly said. Kelly does not think that selling the facility is a solution, rather he thinks that the College is only prolonging the problem of supporting College hockey. Now the team faces the difficulties of finding a new facility.
Many students attend Oberlin hockey games and team members fear that if the team moves its base the appeal of attending games will be lost. “We are trying to find ice time at a nearby rink, but we know that we won’t have nearly the fan support there,” Kelly said.
Although both Kelly and Benjamin express hope that the College may reopen the rink eventually, such a development looks unlikely to happen in the near future.
“At this point there has been no discussion on the reopening of the rink,” Evans said.