Rink

t the grand opening of the Reisterstown Sportsplex in Reisterstown, Maryland on February 8, Jim Smith realized a longtime dream. In the first weekend, more than 10,000 people visited the new 58,000- square-foot facility housing a 200-by-85 foot ice rink and a 180 by 70 foot indoor soccer field. Jim Smith is the County Executive for Baltimore County, Maryland, the thriving home of more than 800,000 people that surrounds the City of Baltimore. Jim is a lifelong resident of Reisterstown, and served as a judge and a County Councilman prior to being elected in 2002 as the chief executive. For a long time, he felt the region would be well-served by having an ice skating facility and he had the perfect location at the county-owned Reisterstown Regional Park, located at the end of Interstate 795, which runs west from the city almost to the border of Carroll County. "If you pointed to a single point on a map, you couldn't find a better place to locate a recreational facility," said Smith. "Reisterstown Regional Park already has a state-of-the-art baseball and soccer/lacrosse complex, and this addition would make this a 'go-to' place for recreation and family activities." Smith approached Hanan Sibel, chairman of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority (BCRA), for help in bringing his vision to life. The BCRA already operates six golf courses and four parking garages for Baltimore County. BCRA took the first step, and in 2004 hired Rink Management Services Corporation of Mechanicsville, Virginia, to conduct a feasibility study. "We hired them because they had earned a reputation for having a conservative financial perspective," said George Hale, Executive Director of the BCRA. "It was critical for this project to make economic sense." When the original report indicated that the economics of building just a rink might be unfavorable, Smith asked the BCRA to review combining an ice rink with the indoor soccer field the Baltimore County Department of Parks already had proposed in the county budget. Rink Management Services was asked to conduct an additional study, and the combination improved the projections enough to get the go-ahead. "Since the indoor soccer facility was already in the county's budget, combining it with the ice rink at Reisterstown Regional Park created efficiencies," said Sibel. "With one parking lot, one footprint, one facility with amenities for both attractions, this new concept made financial sense and was environmentally and customer friendly." The BCRA teamed up with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks to fund the project. "This was a great opportunity to partner with BCRA for future recreation in the county," said Bob Barrett, director of the agency. "The turf field will be operated by the Recreation and Parks Department for the benefit of the local recreational councils and will host indoor soccer, lacrosse, flag football and other indoor sports." Reisterstown, Md. Reisterstown Sportsplex featured rink 12 R INK MAGAZ INE may/June 2008 by WAYNE AUSSEM The ribbon cutting ceremony opened the 58,000 square foot facility in Maryland. Dreams Fulfilled PHOTOS COURTESY OF REISTERSTOWN SPORTSPLEX A The Reistertown Sportsplex is home to the popular Brother Andrew Cup hockey tournament.

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