Committees form to save SV rink

When the Scotts Valley Sports Center becomes a library next year, it may not be the end of roller hockey in Scotts Valley if a group of passionate advocates has its way.
“I think there’s real excitement over being able to continue this,” hockey player and parent Rich Marotta said.
Marotta is just one of many locals who have taken a keen interest in building an outdoor rink in Scotts Valley after the sports center — called home by more than 300 hockey and 100 indoor soccer players who participate in leagues there — shuts its doors as part of a plan to furnish the city with a new library.
The city of Scotts Valley is expected to finalize the purchase of the sports center for $4.5 million by the end of June. The owners, the Slawinksi Family Trust, will hand over the keys to the rink in mid-August.
City Councilman Jim Reed said construction of the library could begin as early as November and could open in November 2010.
The decision saddened many who use the center on a regular basis.
“I think everybody was really disappointed, but nobody blames (owner) Bob (Slawinksi),” Marotta said. “There has been no animosity. I think it’s been a very positive reaction.”
The grassroots Save the Rink organization is working to keep sports leagues going beyond August at the sports center and then hopes to build a permanent outdoor sports area — using the sports center’s existing rink — on city-owned land. The new rink would be covered and have lights for evening games.
More than 100 people are on the group’s e-mail list, and three committees have formed: One to arrange with the city to continue using the rink until the end of the year; one of builders, architects and engineers who will determine how to build a new structure to house the rink; and one to organize the various sports leagues, including the finances and rink maintenance.
“I think what they’re doing is a great thing,” Reed said. “An outdoor rink would be a fantastic asset for Scotts Valley.  I hope we’re able to find a way to put it in Skypark, where it will be one more amenity for the park and, eventually, the Town Center.”
Save the Rink must show the city it can run the sports center and the proposed rink as a successful nonprofit organization, Marotta said. The group will meet with City Manager Steve Ando to begin working out details.
To help make the nonprofit work, the group is looking for financial commitments from organizations like the Santa Cruz Roller Girls, high school hockey teams and intramural hockey programs from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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