The Duncanville Dr. Pepper StarCenter is important to the Dallas/Ft.Worth area. It serves skaters and their families from southern Dallas, Tarrant, Ellis, Johnson, Rockwall, Kaufman and Navarro counties – and beyond! We want to see pour rink remain open…and be successful. This site serves as an information and volunteer point for the many dedicated and passionate supporters of this rink.
We welcome you, and ask you to please get involved to make this a success story!
Check back often for updates as new posts will appear below this message.
There have been varied and somewhat conflicting reports in the media as to the future of the Duncanville rink. The WFAA Channel 8 report on Friday night was confusing at best, and their conclusions were misleading.
What I can say is that on Friday night, members of the Duncanville Community & Economic Development Corporation unanimously refused to entertain a request by the Dallas Stars for a rent reduction at the Duncanville rink. As a result of that vote, there was nothing for the Duncanville City Council to vote on. In other words, the rent reduction request was killed before the City Council could vote on it.
I have also heard comments by people who have doubted the sincerity of the Stars’ efforts to save the rink. My personal, firsthand experience is that the Dallas Stars did try very hard down the stretch to do what they could to come up with a viable solution that would allow them to remain in Duncanville long into the future. Jeff Cogen’s appearance before the Duncanville City Council was respectful, forthright and committed. I can not imagine how he could have done a better job.
From my vantage point it appeared that the city council was being presented with what they have wanted from the Stars for a long time. They had the full commitment, from the president of the Stars, to make changes and improvements that would make the facility successful.
The rent reduction, which the Stars were seeking, matched what the basketball people were offering to pay the city. The Stars were not asking for a better deal than the Bob Knight group.
In the end, it appears that the city has chosen a new tenant over one who has paid at least $7,000,000 in nine years. Their decision will require the city to spend significant money to renovate the building, rather than keep their existing tenant who requires no additional expenditures by the city.
I think it is unfortunate that the city did not recognize the significant changes in approach that have occurred at the very top of the Stars organization, and have missed a perfect opportunity for growth, success and positive national publicity for their community and those of the surrounding areas.
You can watch the September 11, 2009 Duncanville City Council meeting for yourself by clicking on the link below.
11. Reconvene in Open Session to consider termination or revision of contract with Dallas Stars to operate the Dr Pepper StarCenter at 1700 S. Main Street.
12. Authorize City Manager to negotiate and consider approval of lease agreement with Bob Knight’s Fieldhouse to operate a basketball facility at 1700 S. Main Street.
After nearly an hour of deliberation, Duncanville City officials tonight rejected a proposal by the Dallas Stars that would have enabled the Duncanville Dr. Pepper StarCenter to remain open.
Dallas Stars president, Jeff Cogen, addressed the city council and economic development board in person, giving his vision for the future of the rink and the new strategies and initiatives that would make the facility more successful. He expressed his personal commitment to bring about positive changes, and answered a variety of questions from both boards. Executive vice president, Randy Locey was also in attendance although he did not address the group.
In the end, city officials decided to reject a request by the Stars for a rent reduction that would have enabled them to stay open and move forward.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, Jeff Cogen and Randy Locey listened to our concerns, gave us an opportunity to make proposals and recommendations, and in the end, fully supported our efforts and hopes to keep the rink open. They truly wanted to keep the rink open. They were personally involved and proactive in working toward that end. We could not have asked for more from them. They were fair, honest and supportive.
If you were to speak with the Duncanville city officials, I would imagine they felt like they were doing what was in the best interest for their citizens.
My understanding is that the rink will remain open through the end of September. Beyond that, I am not sure what will happen. I believe that is yet to be determined.
Thank you to all of you who supported this worthy cause and who were willing to do so much to help save the rink. I will post an update on this site after the weekend with any further news.
One of the exciting new outcomes from the events of the last ten days is the realization of the incredible potential to expand hockey in our community. The more we have researched and talked to people, the more we are convinced that we are sitting on an enormous opportunity. As Kevin Carver, one of our local hockey leaders said, “this could be so successful, we may have to build another rink!”
From my first phone conversation with a childhood friend and classmate, Michele Okposo, the mother of first-round draft choice and developing New York Islander star, Kyle Okposo, to conversations with top officials with USA Hockey and the NHL, one things has become very clear: There is no better rink in the country for developing an NHL backed program, “Hockey is for Everyone”.
Here is what we have going for us:
Dallas Stars President, Jeff Cogen, told us in a meeting on Friday that he supports our idea to start a Hockey is for Everyone program in Duncanville, and would assist our efforts in several, substantive and very important ways.
USA Hockey officials told me that they would be willing to send coaches for on-ice training, representatives to speak at rallies or fund raisers, and lots of free, used equipment. Our program would also be eligible for a grant of up to $7,000.
The NHL also has a grant of up to $7,500 to be used exclusively in off ice programs where kids are mentored. The NHL’s program of “The Biggest Assist, Happens off the Ice,” seeks to do positive things in the local community to encourage all kids to be good students and positive, serving members of their community. I also learned that the NHL supports the “Assist” program taking place in local churches. (This NHL program in Minneapolis is operated completely out of faith-based organizations.) That’s great news for us, with the number of churches in our area. There are 5 churches alone, within 15 minutes of our rink, that have a total of 77,000 members.
The NHL and the NHL Players Association, through their “Goals & Dreams” program, are also committed to supplying equipment. The NHL official in New York City told me that no child would be kept off of the ice for lack of equipment. They will get us whatever we need.
The NHL will also support our HIFE program in raising money and promoting it in the community. They will license us to use the NHL shield and will provide posters, banners and other marketing tools to get the word out.
To summarize, we have a beautiful arena in a wonderful, culturally diverse community. We have a local NHL franchise, Dallas Stars, who is behind this initiative at the very highest levels and will provide us with support and assistance. We have three, national organizations – USAH, NHL and NHLPA who are more than willing to help us with marketing, people and equipment.
The time for this is now. For sake of the kids, let’s not miss this opportunity!
Jackie Hill-Elliott, one of our volunteers, has been tweeting and contacting bloggers for the Support Duncanville Rink team and has done an outstanding job.
Do you know any other bloggers who will give us some link love? Let us know so we can highlight them.
The DFW Curling Club calls the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Duncanville their home away from home. Last year, they rented 56 hours of ice time from our rink for their games and events. This year they would like to add another 60-85% more time to that if the rink stays open. There are plans in the works to rent out the arena for an entire weekend to hold a big tounament sometime next fall.
In addition, they would like to put in a bid to hold the National Championships in Duncanville in 2012. The finals of that event would be televised on NBC Cable.That event would last for 9 days and bring participants and spectators from all over the country to Duncanville. The financial impact on the surrounding area would be significant as visitors partronized our area hotels, restuarants, stores and entertainment centers.
This is yet another exciting possibility for the future of our rink and community that we think everybody should know about.
The Baylor University Hockey head coach, Jimmy Summers, has confirmed with me that in the event the rink stays open, Baylor would like to call Duncanville their home rink. Baylor, which plays in the ACHA, would like to commit to having all of their practices and home games held in Dunvanville. Jimmy is also hopeful that there will also be some college tournaments or playoff games held at our rink.
We thank Jimmy and Baylor for their support. This is a great opportunity for families with young hockey players to come out and support college hockey and particularly Baylor University. The ACHA can provide a chance for area kids to extend their playing experience on into college. Check it out!
Today’s meeting with Mr. Cogen, president, and Mr. Locey, executive vice-president, of the Dallas Stars went very well. Mr. Cogen had asked us to bring our best ideas and solid strategies for the Duncanville rink. Our report and presentation were warmly received and there was honest and productive dialogue.
The meeting lasted about 80 minutes and very significant steps were taken as the result. The Dallas Stars are moving forward in a positive and proactive manner in an effort to keep the rink open and to make it successful on into the future.
Your involvement and support has been noticed and has made a difference. Please continue to stay positive and we promise that we will update you with more details as soon as we are able to do so. The bottom line is that the events of today with the Dallas Stars could not have gone better.
Our website has had over 1,200 hits in less than two days, we have over 100 people signed up as volunteers and we have over $12,000 in pledges for hockey tickets so far.
I will be uploading some of the photos that we have received onto the site tomorrow.
I have checked out rumors regarding the basketball proposal being a “done deal.” And so far, I have found no truth to any of them.
This is a big hockey weekend, so have fun but be sure to check in on our site for the latest updates.
Please include your name, email/contact information and how you can help. We’ve had a great response and look forward to hearing from you! Thank you to all of those who have already signed up or emailed.
Do you blog, tweet or use Facebook? Put the power of social networking behind our efforts t support the Duncanville rink! We appreciate all links, mentions and tweets!
I just got a phone call from a very special person, who wants to commit to buying hockey tickets in the event that the Stars keep the Duncanville Rink open. Many of you know her, she is Lori Baker.
Lori’s husband, Edd, passed away in November, leaving a huge gap in many people’s hearts and in the local hockey community. Edd was involved in hockey at every level. From coaching is son Travis when he was a mite and above, to travel teams, (he was one of my assistant coaches last year with the Duncanville Canadiens Bantams) to officiating at all levels, to working for the NHL as a replay official at the Stars games. The Stars honored Edd at the AAC before the start of a game against Chicago on November 20, 2008.
Edd was passionate about hockey and he was passionate about our rink. If he were here today, I can guarantee you he would be a part of our group, and no doubt leading the charge.
Lori is very upset with what is happening and knows that Edd would be working hard to save our rink. In that spirit Lori told me that if the Stars decide to keep the rink open in Duncanville, she is going pledge $1,000 in Stars ticket purchases in honor of her husband, Eddie Baker. These will be distributed to those who can not afford to attend a Stars game or who are new to the sport. She is also doing this to show the Stars how important this is to her personally, and how important it would have been to Edd.
Lori gave me permission to share this in the hopes that others will be inspired to support our Duncanville rink. Thank you, Lori! We appreciate you.
