Archive: Around Town

The RINK turned 20 years old this week.  Today the Community Recreational Center (CRC) that includes the RINK and the FIELD is a thriving, solidly booked sports facility offering indoor skating, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, football and a myriad of parties and events to Lansing athletes and the surrounding communities.  It started 25 years ago when Andy Sciarabba started working on bringing a community ice rink to Lansing.  After five years of fund raising, planning, and forming the not for profit corporation that makes it all work, the RINK opened its doors in 1995. 

"It was a community effort," says Sciarabba's son Jay.  "It was great.  I remember that day.  I think Dad cut the ribbon with a skate.  Then everybody went out and skated."


But it started with a parent's frustration at dealing with an impossible schedule at Ithaca's over-booked skating rinks.  Sciarabba's kids had to get up early to make 5am practices, and then stay awake through school and homework throughout the day. 

"I remember getting up at 4:30 in the morning for my first practice," Jay recalls.  "My Mom made me a big breakfast, and I remember going on the ice and throwing up.  And then I'd be exhausted in school.  Dad said there was no reason we couldn't support a facility here.  We needed our own community facility."

That became possible when Andy Sciarabba got a good deal on the East Shore Drive property after the Deanco electronics building burned down there.  The location was a perfect fit, with good roadside visibility in a location easily accessible from Lansing and Ithaca.

The RINK was a grass roots effort from the beginning.  The original building was a 200 x 85 foot ice rink with a small lobby/changing area.  It was built by professional builders, but everything else was done by volunteers.  Andy Sciarabba had purchased the ice and hockey rink boards from the Hartford, CT civic center when it was the home of the New England/Hartford Whalers.  He stored them in Ithaca until the RINK was built.  Volunteers installed them.


The original thick rubber floor mats were donated from Cargill Salt Mine.  Their intended use was to bring salt up from the mine.  The Cornell Hockey Team cut the mats in 90 degree weather to fit in the entryway to the skating rink.  Wood for the bleachers was donated.

The 5,000 square foot lobby -- that includes Instant Replay Sports shop, snack bar and offices -- was added about 5 years later.  The FIELD came in 2001.  It could have been called 'The FIELDS' because the building actually contains two full sized soccer fields with 20,000 square feet of synthetic turf surface that are often re-purposed for other sports and events, as well as a health club.  Last year Bandit Baseball played in the FIELD, as well as lacrosse and football.  Recently the CRC board donated space at the FIELD to house the Lansing Food Pantry.

"They said they never saw a building go up so fast," says Jay Sciarabba.  "I think we started in June or July, and we had it up by November.  It was amazing how fast it went up so people could start playing.  It's nice, because when there is bad weather in Lansing they call (Manager Russ Johnson) and say, 'we need to practice baseball.'  Camps like hockey and soccer camps... we had a dog agility show here this year.  It was huge.  They had over 1,000 runs."


The RINK is home to the new Finger Lakes Regional Hockey Association (FLRHA), as well as more established teams including the Cornell University club team, the Ithaca College hockey team, Tompkins County Girls' Hockey, the local figure skating club, Ithaca High School, and a JV skating team.  Once a week the ice is open to the public, and the overall facility is sometimes booked for private parties.  The ice skating rink is booked solid from September to March. 

Lansing's skating facility is seeing a resurgence of use with the formation of the FLRHA. The association's Peewee Hockey Team, the Outlaws, invited RINK founder Andy Sciarabba do a ceremonial puck drop a few weeks ago to mark the founding of the skating rink.


The current CRC board is made up of Jay Sciarabba (President), Andy Sciarabba (Treasurer), Larry Young (Vice President of RINK Operations), John Cook (Vice President of FIELD Operations), Don Seavey (Secretary), Steve Colt and Bill Rocco.  The board is responsible for fund raising, facilities upkeep and new capital projects.  Jay Sciarabba jokes he became President because he was 'volunteered' by the other board members when he missed a meeting.  But he is excited to take on the role.

"I wanted to take a role that my Dad took 20 years ago," he says.  "I wanted to step into that.  As he's getting older I want him to do less and enjoy more.  And I'm doing it for my kid.  Hopefully Dane will come into the role I am filling now some day."

 
Skating fees, skate rental and other activities largely pay for upkeep and operating costs.  But Jay says the board may have a new project up its sleeve.  They are looking into the feasibility of turning CRC into a solar powered facility.  And recently they launched a new Web site.  The board recently launched a campaign to raise $20,000 -- 20 $1,000 sponsorships -- to provide free ice time for the hockey initiation programs planned for this fall and winter.

Only five employees run the whole place, including cleaning the ice, cleaning the locker rooms, maintaining the fields, scheduling and everything else.  On the busiest day the facility may be open from 5:30am midnight or beyond.  Russ Johnson manages the facility. 

"I think he single-handedly turned this place around," Jay says.  "The managers we had before were good. Russ has been great.  You've got to run a lot.  If you saw his daily spreadsheets... they are filled.  There is a huge demand."

The CRC board is planning an official 20th anniversary celebration later this year. 

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