Community Rink or Retail Operation - a Comparison and Call to Action
For more than 67 years, Berkeley Iceland was a healthy, fun community center based on the Big Ice, When it closed, another part of Berkeley's cultural history was endangered. Sports Basement proposes to turn Berkeley Iceland into a big-box discount sporting goods store, 1-1/2 to 2 times the size of the Berkeley REI, in the middle of a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood. If successful, the return of the beloved and much needed community ice rink will be lost forever.
There is no doubt replacing an historic community recreation center with a 71,000 square foot retail space changes the character of this neighborhood. Traffic patterns, parking, Instead of families spending time together having fun, shoppers stopping by to pick up bargain shoes. Instead of early morning skaters working on their programs, delivery trucks dropping off stock for the shelves. Instead of a real public community center where the Berkeley mixes, sales and the occasional nonprofit meeting. It is hard to think of a bigger change in the character and culture of the neighborhood - and of Berkeley.
The shear size of the operation will dominate the neighborhood like nothing else in the area. At almost twice the size of Berkeley Bowl it represents a substantial presence for a retail sports operation replacing a recreation facility. In total square footage, sports retailing will by far become the biggest business in the district.
The contrast between the ice center which was, and could again, be Berkeley Iceland and a huge sports retailing operation is large, as summarized in the following table:
| Sports Basement | Ice Center | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Draw | Customers will be coming from the greater East Bay - from Richmond to Hayward, according to their application. The goal will be to make this a destination store. Primarily visits for shopping trips with some community events/classes. | Majority from Berkeley and neighboring cities with some from further away. Regular clients for hockey and freestyle (multiple visits per week) and repeat customers for public skating. |
| Use Pattern | Constant flow, large turn-over, periodic peaks. Primarily young adults purchasing sporting goods. The Sports Basement documents estimate peak weekday visits at 241 per hour rising to over 400 on the weekends, a volume needed to sustain 71,000 sq. ft. retail operation. | Fixed schedules, longer stay visits, more like movie theater than retail operation. Many children drop-offs, group car pooling, and foot traffic from the neighborhood. WIth total annual visits in the 100,000 to 120,000 range, Sports Basement would have more visits in a peak weekend hour than an average day for the ice rink. |
| Traffic Flow | Traffic for a big box retail store drawing from the greater East Bay will increase the vehicle on Milvia, Derby and Ward streets as well as the streets that feed into them, primarily ML King Jr. Way, Adeline, and Shattuck. During peak shopping periods, this is likely to be a constant stream of vehicles on what are currently quiet streets. | Visits to public sessions have typically been local groups and families traveling in groups, local kids and teens walking or being dropped off, and neighbors walking to the rink. Freestyle sessions and hockey periods are, by their nature, limited to groups rarely more than 30 skaters at a time, so light traffic during those scheduled uses. |
| Parking Needs | Berkeley Building Code calls for 143 park spaces for a store of 71,500 sq. ft. Parking needs to be available at most times the store is open since its business relies on people driving in from the greater East Bay. The access to the store by public transit is difficult, so most customers will drive. | Berkeley Iceland operated for 67 years with 16 off-street spaces without a great impact on surrounding parking. Aside from major events, parking demand was light. For public time, groups and families traveling together minimized vehicle trips and drop-offs/pick-ups were common which had no impact. The current restoration plans for the new Berkeley Iceland Ice Center significantly reduce the seating, reducing the capacity and parking needs of any event. |
| Primary Mission |
Sports Basement's main goal is to sell products and does this with a community-based model. They plan to do this by attracting consumers from throughout the East Bay. Hosting nonprofit and community groups as a way to market is a good business model. But the goal is still to sell sports products. | Provide a fun and healthy place for the community. A place where kids can skate with other kids, meet new friends and learn new skills. Where hockey skaters of all ages enjoy friendly competition in a special setting. Where adult ice dancers pass on their years of experience by introducing their art to the next generation. A safe place for all of us to just gather and be with each other. A rare mission vital to a healthy community. |
Community action is needed to stop this misguided project and make it clear Berkeley needs our community recreation center restored. Send a message to the City of Berkeley telling them that replacing a community recreation ice center with a big-box sports store is unacceptable. Let Sports Basement know that they have choosen the wrong place to try to start their business in Berkeley. Tell East Bay Iceland that it is time to work with the community to restore Berkeley Iceland to the social and cultural hub of our city. Showing the united and active community support for Berkeley Iceland as a public recreation center is the path for us to reach our goal.
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