All proceeds will be used to fund needed ice rink improvement projects.

Unacceptable items include refrigerators, vehicle wheel rims with tires attached, items containing mercury, items with fluids inside or out, gas, oil, hydraulic fluids, tar, etc.

This event is held in cooperation with Ed Arnold Scrap Processors, in Corfu.

For more information, contact Bob Gray at 585-344-2248 or Sqftbob1@rochester.rr.com

After a tour of The McCarthy (a condensed version of David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena sometimes used at the rink) Monday, and noting the newly painted fiberglass benches — in “Rampart Blue” — it was clear that a transformation has been taking place.

Led by ice arena operator/manager Matt Gray and his folks, Bob and Sharon Gray, representing Friends of the Rink, this tour showed off the hard work and diligence it takes to turn around an aging, unkempt facility.

Just ask City Council members. They raved about the differences at the rink during a recent council meeting. Bob Bialkowski noted the work and dedication of Friends of the Rink, while Paul Viele commended the condition of the smooth ice — “it’s like day and night” — and Tammy Schmidt happily reported that she attended a game, and kept warm with working heaters for a change.

Two meeting/training rooms have been carved out of the space and painted an ivory cream. Dark chocolate tiles have been installed on the ceiling, and a storage room with clean white cupboards lining one wall and a granite countertop is gradually turning into Matt’s office. A wall opposite the arena itself has also been painted, with a pale blue and Rampart blue trim — a feat performed by Sharon, she proudly said.

“That was built in 1994, but never painted. In every picture from high school, you see him playing, and here's his ugly backdrop,” she said. “So we painted, that was our first project this year. I painted it, and my grandson did the upper part.”

So far, members of the Friends group have put in 407 hours of hands-on volunteer time at the Evans Street arena. With their prompting, the city tore out a ramp with a huge pothole in it and rebuilt that section used for Zamboni storage.

Matt’s first goals were to revamp the concession area, which has been completed along with the addition of more hot food and install new brighter lighting. He is testing out three lights over the rink before proceeding with a larger purchase.

Rink management, including General Manager Kati Murray and Facilities Manager Adam Reich, is on the lookout for 12- to 16-foot conference tables for the meeting rooms, and Gray plans to have wiring installed with Cat 6 data cabling for integrated WiFi, which will allow for Zoom meetings and connect to a large television and camera — donated by Batavia Rotary — for game replays.

Carpet tiles will be added for its use as a “flex space,” he said, as Sharon added that someone recently hosted a birthday party there.

A future goal may be to serve brews at The McCarthy — sounds like a pub, doesn’t it? Other ideas include opening the rink year-round with roller hockey, and having an open public time for recreational roller skating and blading, Matt said.

When the elder Grays formed Friends of the Rink in 2020, they wanted to improve issues they had noticed over the years. A hockey player asked Bob why he was getting so involved. This is just an ice rink, the player said.

“And I said, ‘Yeah, but why can't it be the best ice rink in Western New York? Then when we get Western New York, we can have the best in the state, and keep going,” Bob said, adding that issues of unwanted running water, a filthy environment and poor communication have hurt the arena.  “I’ve been here throughout the years, and I see a big improvement.”

The Gray couple agreed that they want to see the rink bounce back, and for youth to be able to enjoy it and perhaps make good friends, just as their son and grandchildren have done.

“That's what we're looking for. We're doing it for the kids,” Bob said. “Matt was a big influence when he took over. We worked like busy beavers.”

Sharon added that she fell on the floor crying when she found out that Matt was taking on rink management. He certainly has the experience, having been a rink user for years, and the business acumen as a local entrepreneur of several successful establishments.

When asked if things have changed from years ago, Sharon had a definitive answer.

“Oh yes, 180 percent,” she said.

And sometimes what’s old is new again.

“We're old timers, you know, so this is a way we used to do it. We’d say, 'why can't we do it like that,' and it worked,” Bob said. “You know, we bring up ideas, and they say, ‘Oh, this is a good idea,’ when it was something we did years ago. We're just bringing it back.”

He’s talking as much about the social aspects of the rink and ice hockey as he is about the structural and aesthetic components. Amateur hockey membership had dropped from 425 players to 257 last year, and for reasons that include family busyness, a wide scope of recreational options — lacrosse and soccer are two popular ones — and other distractions for prospective players, all three Grays said.

This is not just a Batavia phenomenon, they said, but a national one of having multiple options of things to do. And, as Bob said, playing hockey is not just something to do, “it’s a lifestyle.”

“Either you’re in, or you’re out,” he said.

His family has been mostly in — since 1980, when Matt was a beginner on the ice. He aged out in 1996, and soon grandchildren laced up. Despite the downturn of participation in recent years, the Grays are “seeing more family involvement.”

That was one of the biggest benefits for Matt when as a kid, he played ice hockey and made friends for life. He was all in, as any avid hockey player is, Bob said. Another reason that may prevent more kids from participating nowadays is the cost. Helmets, protective gear, and sticks can quickly total $1,200 or more, he said. (See related story about equipment donations.)

Friends of the Rink hosted a Try Hockey For Free kids program this fall and will do so again in February. Members are also mulling a similar event for adults.

As for ice play, and related amenities, Matt plans to reconfigure the bathrooms and showers so that space is more equitable for female players.

“We have a checklist of things that we want to get done this year, next year, and the year after. And then there are side things where Bob, Sharon, Friends of the Rink can really help us do that, outside of what we have otherwise,” Matt said. “And staff have been fantastic with, you know, taking on new projects and doing it in between everything else they have responsibilities for, and then they fill in the gaps on different projects.”

Anyone interested in watching a game remotely may do so through LiveBarn, a subscription-based app. Although parents will typically attend in person, that will be a great tool for coaches scouting out the talent, Matt said, and Batavia United coaches John Kirkwood and Marc Staley set up the app.

For more information about the rink and hours, go to The McCarthy.  

Top Photo: Matt Gray and his folks, Bob and Sharon of Friends of the Rink, provide a tour of rink updates and discuss future plans of the Evans Street site; Bob Gray shows the newly painted benches that sit near the concession inside the arena; Matt Gray shows a painted wooden cutout of the Ramparts logo as it sits atop a handmade table in one of the multi-use meeting rooms; ice play in action on the rink.

The Friends of the Rink organization will be sponsoring a Community Scrap Metal Drive Fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena (rear parking lot), 22 Evans St., Batavia, New York.

All proceeds will be used to fund needed ice rink improvement projects.

Unacceptable items include – refrigerators, vehicle wheel rims with tires attached, items containing mercury, items with fluids inside or out – gas, oil, hydraulic oil, tar, etc.

This event held in cooperation with Ed Arnold Scrap Processors, Corfu, New York.

Press release:

The Friends of the Rink organization donated $700.00 to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation to support their grant program for youth sport organizations in Genesee County. The $700.00 represents the proceeds from a hot dog sale fundraiser recently held during the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena naming ceremony, which was attended by over 150 people.  Friends of the Rink volunteers planned and staffed the fundraiser and sold 120 hot dogs in the two hours of operation.

Photo: In the front row, Hunter Sprague, Dylan Grice, Ronan McCarthy, Carley Grice, and in the back, Brian McCarthy (David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation), Bob Gray (Friends of the Rink), Mike McCarthy (David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation) Provided photo by Kristine McCarthy

On Monday night, City Council voted in favor of an extension and modification of its lease agreement with Firland Management, the firm that has managed the rink for more than a decade.

Negotiated changes call for the Virginia-based company to hold off on its lease payment of $25,000 to the city until Jan. 1, 2022, instead of the original due date of March 1 of this year, and also for the reduction of Firland’s contribution to the rink’s capital fund for 2020-21 from $32,958.30 to $5,000.

Additionally, the contract will be extended for two years through March 2023; Firland’s lease payments will be $20,000 annually for 2021-22 and 2022-23; and its capital fund contribution will be $5,000 annually for the next two fiscal years.

City Manager Rachael Tabelski said concessions were made because the rink was closed for several months last year, adversely affecting Firland’s bottom line. With the changes, the city has escaped (at least in the near future) the possibility of Firland walking away.

When the resolution came up for a vote toward the end of Council’s Business Meeting, Council Member Rose Mary Christian requested that it be amended to a one-year lease instead of two in order for the city to explore opportunities to find private ownership of the facility.

Her request, however, did not receive a “second” so the original resolution stayed on the table.

Council Member Robert Bialkowski said he understood what Christian was attempting to do, but pointed out that a one-year lease could come back to haunt the city.

“If we have a one-year lease and they have not paid the bulk of the money that was supposed to be paid the second year, we would really come up short on that,” he said. “I think this is the best we can do. We have to support it and that’s it.”

Council Member Paul Viele, a longtime youth hockey enthusiast, said he has observed that “Firland is doing a lot better job than they have in the past.”

“With people like Mr. (Robert) Gray (of the Friends of the Rink organization) helping out and volunteering – good things are coming,” Viele said.

Bialkowski said the only ice rinks making money are the ones backed by wealthy sponsors, and then brought up the naming rights to the rink (formerly known as the Falleti Ice Arena).

“I don’t think $500 should put your name up there for five years. That’s like giving that away,” he said.

Viele said the rink would make money “if you have more than one sheet, and that’s expensive to get another sheet.”

Earlier, during the public comments portion of the session, Gray encouraged Council to vote yes to the amended operating agreement.

The Stafford resident said that under the current lease, Firland had the option to extend the lease for another five years.

“Due to extenuating circumstances caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the rink was closed from March 17 to September of the last year, both parties agreed to the two-year lease,” he said. “A new section was also added for the first time that dealt with the sale of the facility -- in the event that the city sells the facility or transfers ownership of the facility.”

Gray said that the new lease isn’t perfect, but "it does give requested consideration to Firland for the late payment to someone who has operated the ice rink for the last 14 years. It will allow the rink to be operated for another two years instead of sitting vacant.”

“City Council recently approved the new lease for Dwyer Stadium that was agreeable to both parties. Why wouldn’t you do the same for the Batavia Ice Arena? I think the proposed lease serves both Firland’s interest and the interest of the City of Batavia. The Batavia Ice Arena is a productive community asset.”

He cited a 2018 Creek Park feasibility study that indicated the estimated annual use hours at 1,600, estimated annual attendance at 68,500 and estimated economic output at $2.3 million.

Gray then took a veiled jab at Christian, who previously said the rink (for hockey) was used only by the “elite.”

“These elite people are your neighbors, coworkers and friends, and are found in every ward in the city and almost every village in the county,” Gray said. "Many people also believe that GAHA youth hockey is the only user of the ice rink. This is not true. The Batavia Men’s Hockey League, both high schools, public open skate, figure-skating lessons and pickup hockey all pay to use the ice at the rink. GAHA currently pays $200 for a 50-minute session – that’s four dollars a minute.”

He then commended Council for hiring Tabelski as manager, saying he has met with her twice to implement a program for his organization that would allow volunteers to identify and complete rink improvements at no or low cost to the city.