Families wasting hours commuting
Escondido hockey players currently drive to Poway, Carlsbad, Irvine, or farther for practice — some travelling 90 minutes each way, multiple times a week. That's time and money leaving our community with every trip.
Privately Funded. Zero Cost to Taxpayers.
A three-sheet community ice facility at Kit Carson Regional Park — funded entirely by The Rinks Foundation — will bring youth programs, local jobs, year-round recreation, and regional tournaments to Escondido families who've been driving 90 minutes for ice time.
Hundreds of Escondido families are already supporting this
When Ice-Plex Escondido closed in 2020, the city lost its only ice rink — and thousands of families lost access to affordable local ice sports. San Diego County is the 5th most populous county in the United States, yet it has only five ice rinks. Our kids deserve better.
Escondido hockey players currently drive to Poway, Carlsbad, Irvine, or farther for practice — some travelling 90 minutes each way, multiple times a week. That's time and money leaving our community with every trip.
Escondido lacks year-round indoor recreation options for youth — especially during hot summer months. Without structured activities, kids turn to screens. A world-class ice facility changes that equation for thousands of local families.
Every tournament weekend, visiting families spend money on hotels, restaurants, and retail — somewhere else. With a regional ice facility, Escondido captures that spending, creates jobs, and generates over $10.9M in annual economic output.
The Rinks Foundation — founded by Henry and Susan Samueli, owners of the San Diego Gulls and Anaheim Ducks — will fund, build, and manage the facility at no cost to Escondido taxpayers. All proceeds are reinvested locally in growing ice sports.
Great Park Ice is where I spent some of the most important years of my skating journey. This facility and its world-class coaches played a huge role in helping me prepare for the Olympics.
— Nathan Chen, 2022 Olympic Gold Medalist, Men's Figure Skating
Trained at Great Park Ice (Irvine) — the proven model for Escondido Ice
My daughter drives to Poway three nights a week for figure skating practice. We spend over $400 a month on gas and 8 hours a week in the car. This facility would give us our evenings back.
I own a restaurant two blocks from Kit Carson Park. Tournament weekends at facilities like this bring hundreds of visiting families who need to eat. This is exactly what North Escondido needs.
My son has autism and sled hockey gave him something he could do alongside everyone else. There's nowhere in Escondido for adaptive ice sports. We've waited years for this. Please make it happen.
Great Park Ice (Irvine) — The Rinks Foundation's proven model, serving 1M+ visitors/year
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Your signature enters the public record. City council members track community support volume before every vote. Every family matters.
The Rinks Foundation was founded in 2009 and currently operates eight Southern California ice and inline facilities, including Great Park Ice in Irvine — a $115 million, 280,000 sq ft complex that serves over 1 million participants per year. It is the largest ice facility in California and one of the most expansive in the United States.
The Foundation is funded by Henry and Susan Samueli, philanthropists and owners of the San Diego Gulls (AHL) and the Anaheim Ducks (NHL). This is a proven operator with a 15-year track record of building and running world-class community ice facilities.
No. The Rinks Foundation will fund, design, construct, and operate the facility entirely at their own expense. The City of Escondido's contribution is the land at Kit Carson Regional Park. That's the entire public investment.
In return, the city will receive $237,302 in recurring annual revenue from day one of operations — plus 150 construction jobs, $12.3M in construction wages, and an estimated $10.9M in annual economic output that benefits local businesses and workers.
The Rinks Foundation is contributing $4 million specifically to fund the relocation of adult softball fields to Francis Ryan Park. The City of Escondido is leading the community engagement process on field relocation and has already engaged a design firm for next steps.
The rest of Kit Carson Regional Park — trails, picnic areas, and open space — remains intact. The facility is being designed to complement, not replace, the park's existing uses.
Yes — and properly so. The City Council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 3, 2026 to begin a formal feasibility and community benefit assessment. Following that, the project will undergo a standard 12–18 month entitlement and environmental review process (CEQA) before any construction begins.
Nothing is being rushed. The process is exactly how responsible development of public land works: MOU first, environmental review second, lease agreement third, construction last. Every step follows proper city procedure.
This is very real. On June 3, 2026, the Escondido City Council voted unanimously to approve the MOU — meaning all five council members support moving forward. The Rinks Foundation has already built an $115M facility in Irvine and operates eight facilities across Southern California. This is not a concept; it is a committed proposal from a serious, funded operator.
The project's success now depends on demonstrated community support. Your signature helps show the council that Escondido families want this — and accelerates the next steps.
The council has said yes. The Foundation is funded. The only thing that makes this real is community support strong enough that it cannot be ignored.
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