Skaters Clear the Bench to Fight Closure of Rink

Upset by the planned closure of Burbank’s Pickwick Ice Arena, several hundred figure skaters, hockey players and coaches are expected to protest this morning outside the landmark facility.

The 29-year-old rink, home of one of the most prestigious figure-skating clubs in the country and a popular practice arena for many local hockey clubs, will close Sept. 30, its manager announced at a noisy meeting of skating enthusiasts Monday night.

Since then, a hastily organized campaign has been launched to save the rink--or at least stall its closure until another arena can be found.

“If we can’t get them to stay open, period, would they please give us two years to make plans and perhaps build a new facility?” asked skating instructor Russell Sessions, a campaign organizer.

Pickwick General Manager Frank Silvio said Wednesday that none of the organizers had requested a meeting with owners Walter and Edward Stavert. The Staverts decided in January to close the arena because operating costs were prohibitive, he said.

Rumors about the facility’s closure had circulated since April.

Longtime patrons of the arena at 1001 Riverside Drive, which is one of the few Olympic-sized rinks in Los Angeles, said their attachment to it goes beyond just a place to skate.

“This is not just an ice rink,” said Gino Vella, president of the California Amateur Hockey Assn. “There’s a part of our lives in there.”

Taylor Neff, 13, who has skated since she was 7, said she has practiced at Pickwick “for a long time. . . . I’ll be crying when it closes because it’s like a second home to us.”

Neff said Wednesday that she has already made two signs to carry at the rally, one reading “Skaters on ice stay out of hot water.” The rally is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on the sidewalk outside the arena.

Pickwick is home base for the highly competitive Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, which has nurtured such Olympic skaters as Linda Fratianne of Northridge, Tiffany Chin of Toluca Lake and Christopher Bowman of Van Nuys.

The rink is also used by speed skating clubs, hockey teams and members of the public, who can take lessons or skate for pleasure.