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PROVO — Leaders in Utah County say they have reached a deal that leaves the future of Provo's public ice rink as smooth as a Zamboni's trail.
The city will gradually buy out the county's $4.9 million share of the popular Peaks Ice Arena over the next 50 years, Mayor Michelle Kaufusi announced alongside Utah County commissioners Thursday.
"This is a big day for us," Kaufusi said at a news conference inside the one-time Olympic facility, with a hockey team running drills on the ice behind her.
It was also a big day for Kaci Woodland, 12, who hopes to one day figure skate in an Olympics. She commutes 45 minutes from her family's home in Mona most days, arriving at the arena at 6:30 a.m, she said.
A year ago, when county commissioners announced they wanted to pull out of their pact with the city to operate the arena, it headed toward auction, Kaufusi said.
The arena's uncertain fate made Woodland "really nervous about not being able to skate." If the operation closed, she would have to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to a Salt Lake City rink, a trek that would likely take too much time and money to sustain, she said.
Woodland, who attended in her skates and a blue leotard, was among more than a dozen other young athletes who applauded the announcement at the arena Thursday. "I'm really happy that it's going to keep going," she said.
Little will change for skaters like Woodland, the hockey and indoor soccer teams that practice there, or for families spending an afternoon on the ice together, city and county leaders said. Residents of Provo and others in Utah County will pay the same rates. Club hockey teams from BYU and Utah Valley University will continue to play there.
If the negotiations had fallen through and the arena closed its two rinks and indoor turf fields, it would be the first 2002 Olympics facility to shut down — a blemish on Salt Lake City's legacy as it seeks to host the games in 2030.
"I am so happy to hear this is resolved," said Colin Hilton, president and CEO of Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, who said Utah is "pioneering" in its maintenance of Olympic facilities.
Provo and the county have long split the costs operating the arena, including payroll and maintenance. Under the terms of the contract signed at the event Thursday, "we'll still have some ownership," said county Commissioner Bill Lee, but the county will shed liability and its day-to-day managing role. Provo also claims naming rights under the deal.
The city will buy the building in yearly installments of $50,000 over the first decade, the agreement stipulates. After that, it has 40 years to pay for the remainder, but Kaufusi said she believes it won't take that long.
Another possible Winter Games in Utah won't affect the deal, said Nathan Ivie, also a county commissioner. The arena still will receive county grants to prepare for that potential event and others.
Completed in 1998, Peaks was privately owned until late 2008, when the city and county took it over after suing the private manager over unpaid rent.
The agreement isn't final just yet. It must win approval from Provo's City Council on Tuesday and from county commissioners at their May 1 meeting before taking effect.
