The City of Escondido was home to a longstanding private ice facility, the Ice-Plex Escondido, that operated for many years, and it unfortunately shuttered in 2020. The Rinks Foundation has identified Escondido as a great growth market for ice sports. In fact, San Diego County only has five ice rinks serving the 5th most populous county in the United States.

In evaluating the portfolio of City-owned and controlled properties, Kit Carson Park (KCP)’s adult softball complex was identified as an ideal location. To learn more about how KCP was selected, see the question below. As a recreational facility, the proposed Ice Rink would integrate with the existing recreational uses already in Kit Carson Park including baseball, softball, tennis, soccer, roller hockey, disc golf, calisthenics training, and hiking. The adult softball complex, which is the proposed project site, is part of the developed part of the park and is large enough to fit both the facility and the necessary parking. The undeveloped, natural areas are not under consideration. Additionally, having both an elementary and high school nearby affords an opportunity to work with the schools to offer easy access to new youth recreational and competitive sports. Finally, the proximity to freeway access, retail, and shopping were important factors in terms of larger economic impact.

The City is severely restricted in what it can do with City-owned and controlled property because of the California Surplus Lands Act - a state law that requires cities to prioritize affordable housing when they decide they no longer need a piece of land. A city first has to formally declare land “surplus” meaning it’s not needed for public use anymore. Once a property is declared “surplus,” the City has to offer it first to affordable housing developers and negotiate with them in good faith before considering other uses.

That means the City doesn’t always have full discretion over how it uses its own property— it has to follow a state-mandated process. This limits which properties within the City’s portfolio could be considered as a potential site for the proposed community ice sports facility.

Kit Carson Park is different. It is active parkland with long-standing recreational use requirements tied to how it was acquired and funded. Because of that, it wouldn’t be appropriate for housing, and as part of the initial investigation of the feasibility of this opportunity, City staff worked with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to confirm that this project would be legally exempt from the Surplus Lands Act and therefore, could legally be built in Kit Carson Park without having to surplus the land or offer it up for affordable housing development. There are no other City-owned parcels large enough and exempt from SLA where this proposed facility could go.

While the City owns the land under the mall, it does not currently control how the site is used and can’t unilaterally place this project into the mall because there are 4 active leases in place and Macy’s owns its own parcel.

1. Developer parcel lease with Steerpoint and Mershops who control the sub leases (i.e. Target, H&M, food court restaurants, etc). The out parcels (Surfing Crab, Black Angus, BJs) are included in the developer parcel lease which ends in 2053.
2. Lease with Transformco for what was formerly the Sears location.
3. Lease with R1 Investments for Round 1 Bowling & Arcade.
4. Lease with JCPenney.

The City does not have site control. Overlaying these leases is a Construction, Operation, and Reciprocal Easement Agreement (REA) which is a private agreement amongst the mall operator and the major tenants that controls everything about the common areas including parking. The City isn’t a party to the REA and can’t unilaterally impose this project there.

The City of Escondido does not own the property on which the old Ice Plex facility is located. Additionally, the size and location of the former Ice Plex would not accommodate The Rinks Foundation's proposed facility.

Some of the parcels that were evaluated for a potential minor league baseball stadium back in 2011 are not owned or fully controlled by the City. Much like the mall, which is complicated by the involvement of multiple controlling stakeholders, that’s also true about this group of properties. One of the properties studied by the CEQA analysis is owned by North County Transit District. Another is part of the former Redevelopment Agency so there are multiple entitles who control the disposition of that parcel. The largest City-owned parcel in this location currently serves at the City of Escondido Public Works Yard. It would add considerable time and cost to both the Rinks Foundation and taxpayers for the City to have to identify and purchase a new property and then relocate the Public Works Yard at this time.

Even if that were feasible, the most significant challenge is that the Surplus Land Act (SLA) would require the City to make available any of its parcels in this area first for affordable housing development, and given recent State law related to housing near transit centers, the chance of being able to lease that location for the purposes of a recreational facility after complying with the SLA are extremely low.

City staff and Councilmembers receive creative ideas from the public all the time. Some of them sound really promising but others are more conceptual or lack the initial details that we need to feel comfortable bringing them forward publicly for further exploration. So there’s due diligence that must be done before an idea is publicly announced and that can often take years depending on the scope of the proposal.

In 2024, when this opportunity was brought to Council in closed session there were a variety of potential obstacles that had to be discussed including the qualifications of the proposer, the City’s financial position because the outcome of the our Measure I local sales tax initiative was still unknown, staff bandwidth constraints, and the legal question of whether this facility could even go in the proposed location which had to be explored with the CA Department of Housing and Community Development or HCD.

The exploration of locations happened consecutively, not concurrently. First, time was invested in identifying a suitable location for the ice rink to maximize economic impact to the community. Then, understanding that it would result in the rehoming of the Adult Softball complex, it took time to find a potential new location for that facility. During this time, Escondido voters approved Measure I which provided the ability to rebuild staff capacity and truly entertain the future costs of relocating the Adult Softball complex.

While Ryan Park has initially been identified as a feasible location, there is so much additional exploration that needs to be done because we know there are challenges to work through with that site as well.

Perhaps the most time-intensive process involved the conversations with HCD around the Surplus Lands Act. What’s important to know about the SLA is that it’s a law that governs procedures around how a City can sell, lease, or otherwise change a use of public property. It took over a year to receive their concurrence that this project would be exempt from that law and was legally feasible.

It took years to work through those issues, but the passage of Measure I and concurrence from HCD that this project would be exempt from the Surplus Lands Act, allows us to explore the project benefits and potential impacts publicly.

The Lease Agreement that is being negotiated pursuant to the MOU would only be a Conditional Lease; that is, the lease would be drafted so that there are specific conditions that would need to be met before the lease with The Rinks took effect. One of those conditions would be that the project proposed by The Rinks go through the appropriate level of environmental review under CEQA. Another condition would be that the project receive all necessary entitlements for the contemplated use. The lease would not be effective, and The Rinks would not take any sort of possession of the property, unless and until those two things happened.

Before the City commits to any use of its property, the proposed use will go through the required level of environmental review pursuant to CEQA.

The Rinks Foundation (TRF) is proposing to build the facility at no cost to the Escondido taxpayers. They will fully fund the costs of construction, operation, maintenance, and programming for the duration of the potential lease agreement. This would not only bring ice sports back to Escondido but will also be a place where youth, families, adults, recreational skaters, adaptive athletes, and competitive athletes can all participate.

TRF is designing this facility to serve as a third space for the entire community - somewhere other than work, home, or school where the community, regardless of their interest in ice sports or recreation, can gather to take advantage of the air conditioned climate and the shaded outdoor gathering spaces. The proposed food and beverage services would also allow the community to have a place right within the park where they can gather and enjoy a snack after a tennis match, a round of disc golf, or a walk with their dog.

The City of Escondido will be leading the process to engage the community on the relocation of the adult softball fields. The City has identified Ryan Park as a potential relocation site and will be engaging a design firm on next steps. The Rinks Foundation has committed to contributing $4 million to this effort.

We won’t know the cost until we have a design which will be the result of community input sessions. If City Council approves a lease with The Rinks Foundation, the City will engage a park design firm to lead that effort.

Municipal decisions about use of City land, partnerships, and facilities are policy decisions of the City Council informed by public engagement - not voter decisions. As with decisions around budget allocations, adding pickleball courts, building splash pads, or approving a housing development project, the Council is not bypassing voters – it’s performing its delegated governing role as elected representatives of the voters.