"I have never been in the building, but is it large enough for indoor soccer? I hate the sport, but the soccer crowd is crazy, spends money like mad and can never find enough places to play out their endless seasons."
"How about a Civil War museum - some useful endeavor that will benefit a larger segment of the population than ice skaters. How many of those are there? A museum would be a tourism draw. Run this by the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. They are sure to have some good ideas. Maybe a mini-convention center. Look at the failed ice rink at Zullinger, Pa. It is now a successful, privately owned tennis complex. Ice skating, NO; something else to serve more people with a greater degree of success, YES."
"KEEP IT AN ICE RINK!!! The rink is used by 65,000 area residents. It give the kids a great activity to do during the winter when there are limited outdoor activities. It is obvious that it has been used and can be used even more if it is properly managed and promoted."
"65,000 area residents use the Ice and Sports Complex and it's still not able to sustain itself? Where's the money going then? If anyone does come forward to take over managing the rink and wants to keep it an ice rink, I'd say they have some work to do."
"Our ice rink has been a wonderful addition to our community. With over 65,000 customers per year, I support the rink for our children and our community and I'm so thankful our city supports it also. All three of my children have learned to skate at our rink and it is a weekly activity for our family and friends."
"I'm not an ice sports fan, but there a people that enjoy ice skating, hockey, etc., and I feel they should have an ice facility to use. This is a good thing for them. If the county is looking for profit, they should have a consultant come in and do an assessment of the situation and recommend a solution to where this could at least break even. Maybe the fees for the usage have to be raised. But the bottom line is that people do enjoy this and I think they should have a place to skate."
"I don't even understand why we are even debating this. We have a good thing going for kids, as well as families, at the ice rink and they are thinking about taking it away. I know a lot of kids who are part of the hockey teams out there and are very upset that this is going on. I am all for keeping this as an ice rink and sincerely hope that the council does the right thing and keeps it as is."
"Use the back parking lot and build a covered roller hockey rink. It's cheap to run and equipment is cheaper so more kids and adults can try it and see if they like it. Have kids and adult leagues and weekend ironman or regular tournaments. It would fill the summer void and increase revenue for the complex. Maybe bring in a UHL team ... you could fit a few hundred people in there for games."
"Keep it as an ice rink. If the usage figures are correct then the problem lies elsewhere. The people that have been supporting it thus far deserve an answer, not abandonment."
"I don't think people realize how this rink supports other businesses in Hagerstown. During hockey season every weekend, there are teams coming from all around Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Four to eight games a weekend 12 to 18 kids on a team plus parents, grandparents and friends. Do the math. These people eat, sleep and shop in and around Hagerstown
