New lease, vision for ice arena

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The Jackson Town Council granted a three-year lease to local nonprofit group Center Management Inc., for the ice arena previously known as the Snow King Center. The group has been operating the rink on an interim basis since the Town cancelled its lease agreement with Snow King Resort owner Manuel Lopez last fall.

For John Valiante, who heads CMI, it is a homecoming of sorts. Valiante was the driving force behind getting the valley’s only indoor ice arena built in 1994. He regrets seeing the building become as rundown as it has in the past few years. He says he hopes to one day restore the facility to a multi-purpose event center the community can be proud of.

“When I was involved before we were looking essentially for an ice rink,” Valiante said. “Now we have a little broader vision and the Town shares that with us. Conventions are obviously a part of our longer term vision and we hope to expand the building on the front end, or at least create a better use of the space there with conventions in mind.”

Valiante says he is working with Roger Bower, regional director of the Wyoming Business Council, in an effort to secure funding to upgrade the facility into a destination meeting space. “Right now it is in poor condition, but money from the Wyoming Business Council could help us expand the building into an even grander vision than what we had 20 years ago,” Valiante said.

The Jackson Hole Recreation and Event Center, as it is now known, has settled for baby steps for now. Immediate areas of improvement have been addressed by the new management team which includes day-to-day operations chief Bob Carruth. New flooring, paint, and other cosmetic enhancements have been made. Most rink users agree hockey and figure skating programs continue to operate seamlessly through the transition. Big ticket repairs to the building’s roof and other capital improvements are upcoming pending financing.

Valiante says he hopes to attract more high-profile figure skating and hockey events to Jackson. Regional figure skating competitions have been held at the arena but Valiante said it is difficult to lure bigger events to the event center until improvements are made, including a second sheet of ice for practice and warmups.
Valiante added that he hopes to carry on a concert series at the base of Snow King, something previous promoters like Bravo! and Knitting Factory have tried in the past to mixed success. He said his business manager, Jeff Potter, also a local concert promoter, has some ties in the music industry and he envisions six or eight concerts to be held either outdoors or indoors this summer season.

The changes don’t necessarily mean Jackson is any closer to having year-round ice – something residents have clamored for for years.

“I don’t think we are going to have year-round ice,” Valiante said. “We will probably pull it out the 1st of April and maybe put it in earlier in September [next fall].

Without good, predictable use it doesn’t really pay to have ice available all summer. There is just so much more to do here outdoors in the summer. This isn’t exactly like Minnesota.”

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New lease, vision for ice arena | Planet JH News Article: General News

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