Iceland to Open in November - Sacramento Iceland, that is...

When the community, owners and city agree to get something done, it is amazing what can happen.  After a fire decimated the historic Sacramento Iceland structure, the Kerth family, which owns Sacramento Iceland, decided that they owed it to the community to reopen the rink.  Working with the community, hundreds of volunteers have been cleaning up the remnaints of the fire with the goal to open the rink, without it's roof, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sacramento Iceland's opening, 4 November 2010 [Sacramento Iceland opened three days after Berkeley Iceland].  There is a report in the ISI eNews that the City of Sacramento is providing a grant of $25,000 to help restore the original facade of the Iceland building. 

SBI salutes all the folks working to restore Sacramento Iceland to its community -  it will be worth a trip to Sacramento to skate there when it opens.  When you have a special place in your community, it is important to work together to preserve it.  This, more than anything else, is what has kept the Save Berkeley Iceland project going. 

Berkeley has a chance to follow the lead of Sacramento, Richmond, and others who know that special places in the community, especially those that provide healthy, year round opportunities for us all to take part in, are worth the effort and money to save.  Now that the question of Berkeley Iceland's historic status has been confirmed by a higher authority, there are projects we can all get behind which include restoring the rink and expanding the site's usefulness to the community.  Eligibility for National Register listing provides an avenue for new funding using preservation tax credits and easement deductions that can be used for restoration of the rink. The most promising plan is a multiuse plan to combine housing with a fully restored Berkeley Iceland Skating Center. 

SBI's goal is to see Berkeley Iceland restored and reopened to the community.  We support any plan that shares this goal and will continue to work with others in the community - the owners, prospective owners, mayor, city council, city staff, preservationists, developers - who share this goal.