PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - For decades, the ice at Sprinker Recreation Center has been a magical place where skaters carve their dreams.
"It feels like you're flying. Its a wonderful feeling," said 14-year-old figure skater Cassandra Smith. She has invested 10 years of her life her into reaching her goal: "I want to win the Olympics in 2014."
But that dream is in jeopardy. But Pierce County's only public sheet of ice is on the brink of falling prey - some say - to politics. Employees at Sprinker Recreation Center just got word to prepare for the ice rink to close due to engineers reports of "structural deficiencies and deterioration."
The future of the indoor tennis courts is uncertain. A county spokesman says the outdoor venues on the Sprinker complex, including the ball fields, will remain open. The skateboard park is currently closed due to extreme vandalism but is scheduled to reopen in July.
Parents angry about the pending ice rink closure have organized, handing out fliers and planning a protest.
"They're going to close this facility on October 31," Jeff Scott tells a man walking through Sprinker's doors. Scott is a member of the newly formed group "Friends of Sprinker," which plans a protest on Wednesday night.
"The county has passed the buck and passed the buck and passed the buck for 15 years. Its gotten to the point that its a safety hazard," said Scott.
The roof is reportedly unstable. Water leaks from the ceiling and creates holes in the ice surface. There's rot in the restroom.
Scott is among those who blames county politicians for spending tax dollars to create newer parks and recreational options while abandoning Sprinker.
Pierce County's Park and Recreation Director, Kathy Kravit-Smith, tells KING 5 a funding crunch has resulted in reduced services for all of the county's dozens of parks. She says a previous vote to raise sales tax failed to result in a major renovation for Sprinker. Since 2000, Kravit-Smith says more than $56 million has been spent on Pierce County Parks and Recreation, including about $10 million on ballfields and facilities for the newly created Heritiage Recreation Center on South Hill.
Kravit-Smith says discussions about master planning for Sprinker never resulted in actual construction. Now, more than $30 million is needed to renovate the Sprinker Recreation Center, which had about 271,000 visitors in 2009, and 51,000 ice visits.
Minority Pierce County Council member Barbara Gelman looks at the aging ice arena and blames party-line politics.
"The other council members felt there were othe priorities higher than this," said Gelman.
Sprinker is in her district. She says the county's newly developed areas have successfully lobbied for new parks at the expense of maintaining existing facilities.
Gelman says ultimately, "the buck stops with the taxpayers of the unincorporated areas.... Some proposal will go to the public... it will have to involve a bond or a tax increase."
The council will consider those funding options in July.
While politicians consider the bottom line, skater Cassandra Smith pleads with them to instead listen to their hearts.
"Just think of all the dreams all the kids had, and just to think if they ever had a dream and how would it feel to be crushed," said Smith.
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