How much does the city pay to subsidize the ice arena now and how much will it be paying after the improvements?

justified_by_faith must be a baptist or a mormon. Never trust a religion that doesn't drink real wine at its services ;-)

LOL

justified_by_faith...

...I missed the part of the article that said that people were going to be forced to drink beer.

Tell me, will it be at gun point? Or will big dudes hold peoples heads back while holding their noses closed so that vendors can pour the beer down the throats of the pure of heart and spirit?

..fyi, not everyone's house is in foreclosure. Not everyone is stupid with their money and not everyone sits at home without getting out and spending some money in town to help the economy.

..oh, sorry spacejam, I forgot to add LOL at the end.

Myself and many others will go watch. Not everyone in the city is out of a job.

Donegeal: you are right!! Lets shoot down the free idea, and spend on a chance below odds!!!! Not to mention the city is in the "RED", and the whole economy as well. If the majority of people without money (let-alone people without a job) who's gonna go to watch?

The city could have had the Gladiators for free two summers ago. Now they want to spend $200,000 for a hockey team? They naysayers aren't the backward thinkers here. (And any Hockey team that comes here will be lucky to draw 200 fans a game, much less the 700/game that will be needed to be profitable)

ooop's the speel polcie are herie

Come on guys learn how to spell and use correct grammar

If I was to spend money like Janesville does, I would be divorced!! LOL

It's amazing, and people wonder why thier homes are in foreclosure or they are in debt. Thier own city can't even balance the books. Just keep spending!!! LOL

If my family income is less than what I spend , I would not be a responsible parent. Right? JUST USE COMMON SENSE! This city can not afford to spend when it is running in the "RED" LOL

ja67:
"This was best time for improving the Janesville Ice Arena"
I can think of a better time!! When the city budget improves!!!! LOL

I can't figure out why people can blast the city council. This was best time for improving the Janesville Ice Arena. Especially when the Junior Hockey Team will bring in people from all parts to watch the Hockey Team play. This means money for the local businesses. Get with it People.

Anyways,I voted for the school improvements. That was a NEED not a WANT. LOL

spark: If I remember right the economy has went into the tank after that vote. The city budget at this time is the worst in history. Please correct me if im wrong. lol

The last time the city voted on something was the school renovations. That passed, yet there was still all the complainers that thought it would be better if you crammed 50 kids into a closet to teach them so they could save on their taxes. They would rather have the money spent on perfect plowing in the winter months because they don't know how to drive in the snow while getting their kids to the school that they didn't want built. That was off subject. Anyways, go Janesville!!!

Some-day you too will grow up and want to save your money lol

Sorry the truth hurts lol

You just keep spending while I try to keep saving LOL
Have a nice day!

lol

I would bet you anything if this was up for a city vote it would be turned down at this point in time.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this happen if the city had extra money to spare.

When your city is running in the RED the last thing you do is spend money!!!!, that could be used for things that keep the city running.

Has nothing to do with having a fat income. It's about wanting to better the community and being fed up with all the people that complain about how bad they think this city sucks, but then when something positive comes up that will possibly help boost some attraction to the city, they tear the idea apart and want to immediately push it away.

They have thought about how it will be paid for. $1.20 a person.

For those that say wha wha wha, and think that people are complaining must have a fat income! Why don't all the hockey participants pay for this out of thier income. If I remember right hockey "all-together" is a very expensive sport.

Forward thinking must include how your going to pay for this, especially when the city is running in the red. Over-all this is a WANT not a need. The city can't even take good care of what they have. Spend spend spend!!!!!

this has got to be the uaw's fault

the point is the ice arena needed to have many repairs done now we are getting the repairs done and having other user groups come in.
Bottom Line it had to be done regardless now we are getting a hockey team to boot!!!

ok for the many of you that are complaining about "upgrading" the ice arena. Have you been in there lately? The locker rooms that the kids us and mens hockey team uses are run down, some benches are gone and replaced with lawn chairs and thats the locker room that your kids or you use. Also the warming room could use a bit of a facelift and I'm sure that the heating system is alittle outdated. So if you dont use the ice arena or go there to support you local youth hockey then you dont have room to talk.

I dont have a dog or use the dog park, so should I complain about any funds that go to the park?? Nope got to sit back and let the people who do use the park, enjoy what they have.

Before you complain about spending city funds and tax money maybe you should get down to the rink first and look around.

Good Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're worried about the beer, you better just ban alcohol sales at all sporting events. Good luck with that.

Fly - I am at open skate on Friday nights very often and I have never seen a group turned away and have not ever seen numbers anywhere near that. As far as money lost in the concession stand - the youth hockey club runs the concession stand - not the city. I'm sure the city can find other times to offer open skates.

There still will be open skates for the kids.
Also the rink will be making money the night of the games people have to pay for food and drinks while they are there. The issue of selling beer you are all acting like people are going to go down there and sit like it's the local PUB....come on people it's a 3 hour function at most and they are only allowed to sell beer the first 2 periods of the game.
Let's all stop complaining and sit back and see what it will bring to Janesville....FUN,FUN,FUn something Janesville does not have!

It is a good thing to bring new business to Janesville but the selling of alcoholic beverages at the Ice Arena is a very bad idea.

Habakkuk 2:15 - Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also...

Abstaining from alcohol will not harm the one who practices it nor anyone else!

You need beer sales to float the whole thing. There are families at NHL games and they sell beer. Get a clue. Plus I know for a fact that other Junior A teams in the NAHL sell beer.

I am all for upgrading the ice center, it is long over due. I think it is shameful the way the previous city manager allowed recreation facilities and programs to deteriorate. It is a quality of life issue in our community. I hope the new manager sees the value of public recreation. I am not against a junior A hockey team coming here, I just think any contract with them should be carefully considered. Yes, they will pay for ice time, but the city foots the bill for upgrades, staffing, maintenance etc. The city will lose revenue from public skate and private rentals. If 100 kids come to open skate nights (which is conservative) @ $6 per kid with skate rental, that would be a loss of $9000 over the course of a season. Not to mention what is made on concessions. Also, it would displace those who are currently attending and enjoying an affordable healthy activity. The ice center is not all about hockey. Any contract entered into should be profitable for both the junior A team and the ice center.

chuckie-nobody is bashing you.

gee I follow the rules and voice my opinion and I get bashed.......I think you are the one whineing Mr. Igotclout you aint got nothing..... see I still followed the rules!!

P~~

gary- EXACTLY!!! If you're going to complain over $1.20, well you have bigger issues.

Just don't get upset if few local kids make this team. I wish the venture the best however.

My daughter goes to the ice arena weekly for open skate. She also attends the hockey games that already go on there. She will be thrilled with this news. If a few open skate sessions get cancelled to make room for more hockey, Traxler Park has plenty of room to accommodate. They could use a little attention as well as the ice arena! I am not objecting to an $8-$10 hike in my property taxes to pay for this.

It's only going to cost you $1.20.

tbatch2000- people complain about opportunities for new jobs in this community too. Just look at the posts related to the Walgreens stories. You'll never make everyone happy.

lets get something in here that we need um Like JOBS.........

For everyone that does not use the ice arena,the arena has been past due for needing updates.this will open up opportunities for our local kids to continue on in playing a sport they love and we all can support them. It will also help support our community in these hard times with people having to come from out of town. All the negative people out there need to look outside the box for a change and look at the positives of what this could bring to Janesville.

Fly, the only time kids were turned away was when an organization, a church I believe, brought in a whole school bus full of kids. Then they ran out of skates, but that is NOT a usual occurance. I'm not saying that open skate isn't popular, it is, and those who attend will also benefit from the updates that are done to the rink because of this new team. And yes, they have to pay for their ice time just like everyone else. I believe the article the other day stated $40,000.

Many thanks to the city council for forward thinking. To those narrow minded residents who believe we can be a progressive city without offering amenities or investing in our public facilities, take the next one-way bus out of town.

frusion - a couple weeks ago.

fly, that is correct, it is not only about hockey. By the way, when is the last time you went to the ice arena for family skating?

csense - How do you know how much open skate brings in? Do you have access to attendance figures? I have been down there on Fridays and have seen them turn away kids because they have run out of skates to rent. That is a sign of a successful program.

If groups of people still want to set up shop in JVL after the loss of GM, then we need to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Don't we still want to see the city grow? In order for that to happen then occasionally the city is going to have to fork over some money. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting tired of having to go to out of town for entertainment. I get that there are a lot of people that no longer have an income in JVL, but that is no reason to turn away business. We need to move forward.

And for those of you that don't like who's on the city council or the way they do things, the door is open for you to run for it. That's the beauty of it.

This is great news! The ice arena has needed major upgrades for years and this a great way to bring some much needed attention to Janesville. As far as you backwards thinkers go, this is why we can't make progress in this city. Backwards thinking.

Way to go janesville. Keep on spending when theres nothing left to spend. Maybe if we're lucky we can run up the highest debt that we ever seen and all go bankrupt.

To "Fly," I assure you that the city doesn't need to be reimbursed "thousands" for the missed Friday night skates - they don't make ANYWHERE NEAR that on a Friday night -
To "Rooster" - "Why else would anyone go to a hockey game except to watch legal brawling and
get drunk in the process?" Perhaps you should actually attend a hockey game to see what really goes on.

Or at least slow down for them...

"thats how stuff gets presented to the taxpayers. like the school board does it. when will the city quit spending money it dosn't have. when are we going to stand up for ourselves. if i ever ran for the city council,it would be on a platform of never voting for anything that would raise taxes or in any way cost the overburned taxpayer any more money...period." -Rooster January 26 10:32.

************************

Its a good thing our city council and other elected officials don't have Rooster's narrow minded views or we would need to brake for the tumbleweeds blowing through town.

come election, who will remember to vote these clowns out? about beer sales! don't let the family issue (council of ours)stop you from getting beer in there. why else would anyone go to a hockey game except to watch leagle brawling and get drunk in the process. while your at it, as long as the bar is open, sell beer (and maybe some wine) at the high school games so the otherwise, could care less about hockey adults, will have an acceptable rational to attend the games.

Although this public facility is long overdue for an upgrade, the contract with this hockey league needs to be closely re-examined. How exactly does the city benefit from this? Is the league going to reimburse the city for the thousands of dollars lost from open skate on the week-ends of home games? Is the league going to help pay for maintenance or staffing? Although this possibly could be a good thing, the council needs to consider the negative aspects also. They need to remember that this is a public use facility, and it's not only about hockey.

Great news. Now lets use some local business's to update the facility and create some work for our residents. We can't shut everything down chainsawchuckie or we will "save" ourselves into a depression.

Congratulations and gratitude to the council for being forward thinking. This is some much-needed good news for Janesville.

Well a new year and the spending just keeps on going........... good greif........hang on to your wallets... I have to tighten my budget but this wonderful council just keeps spending like there is a never ending supply of money. STAY SAFE!!!!!!