Anchorage pays new ice rink operator $450,000 plus $10 a year

The Anchorage Assembly voted 12-0 to approve new ice arena management contracts, paying the new operator $10 a year to run two rinks and fronting it up to $450,000, replacing a for-profit contractor. The city had been paying that contractor about $100,000 a year.

Anchorage Community Ice Management, a subsidiary of the Anchorage Hockey Association, takes over the Ben Boeke and Dempsey Anderson arenas for five years with five one-year renewal options. The deal suspends the arenas' 5% capital reserve contribution until 2029.

All In 49, LLC, formed by the owners of the Anchorage Wolverines, will run the George M. Sullivan Arena under a deal that covers operating losses, capped at $613,500 for fiscal year 2026, rising 2% annually, up to $2,885,928 over five years.

"We want to balance good financial stewardship of these facilities with continued recreational opportunity," said Assembly Member Daniel Volland.