Is a ‘rodeo rink’ at the Eagle County Fairgrounds the answer to ice shortage?

With Vail’s Dobson Ice Arena closed until November of 2026, the valley’s skating families have been scrambling looking for “displacement ice.” They may have found an answer.

After an idea fell through to fast-track a $20 million events center at the Eagle County Fairgrounds, another, far less expensive option has come up: a “rodeo rink.”

Instead of pouring millions into a brand-new facility, the Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club has launched a fast-track campaign to raise far less money — about $650,000 — to turn the floor at the fairgrounds’ rodeo arena into a seasonal ice rink large enough for regulation hockey games.

Slade Cogswell of the Vail Mountaineers Hockey Club noted that the county is already maintaining the facility all year, although it gets little use outside the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo.

According to the proposal, the arena floor is flat and can quickly be made flat enough for hockey and figure skating. And the facility already has enough electricity and water to meet the needs of a full-sized ice rink, while the space under the grandstands can be easily converted to locker rooms.

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Cogswell said the Vail Recreation District has agreed in principle to manage the ice while Dobson is closed, although no formal agreement is in place. The rink would use the old dasher boards and Zamboni from Dobson, although the Vail Mountaineers would ultimately own the Zamboni.

Cogswell noted that no public money would go into the rodeo rink, although the Vail Recreation District and Eagle County would put a lot of “in kind” services into the project.

It needs a big tent

The fundraising would pay for rubber mats to get skaters from the locker rooms to the ice and other features, especially a rental of a large, seasonal tent to cover the ice surface. That tent, Cogswell said, would be similar to the structure atop Vail Pass that the Colorado Department of Transportation uses to cover its sand supplies.

While Dobson will only be lost for the coming winter, Cogswell said he sees the rodeo rink potentially becoming a third ice surface in the valley, helping ease demand created by an estimated 1,500 users. Between youth and adult hockey leagues and figure skaters, the ice surfaces in Vail and Eagle are busy from early morning until late at night.

Cogswell, who grew up in the valley, said he coaches teams at 6 a.m. and in the evening. Men’s league teams often don’t get off the ice until after midnight, he said.

Eagle County Commissioner Tom Boyd also grew up in the valley, and, like Cogswell, spends a lot of time coaching and playing in local leagues. The prospect of finding a replacement for Dobson is exciting, Boyd said. But while this seems to be the answer, a lot of details need to be ironed out.

Raising the money needed seems a much more achievable goal, Boyd said, although he noted that in the Vail Valley, it seems “there’s a good cause for every minute of the day.”

Where do you store the stuff?

In addition, there’s the issue of where to put all the material from a seasonal ice rink. Then there’s the question of where one would park a Zamboni when not in use during the ice season.

And, while there aren’t yet signed agreements between the ice users, the Vail Recreation District and Eagle County, Boyd said the discussions so far have been “really thought through,” from measuring the rodeo floor for the size of the tent, to where the dasher boards would come from to acquiring the chiller for the ice surface and how much power is needed.

Then there’s the matter of time. The fundraising campaign is already underway, of course, and sponsors are being sought for everything from dasher boards to Zamboni fenders.

Equipment orders have to be placed in June and July and site work has to begin right after the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo ends. If everything falls into place, the rodeo rink could open in October.

Those who want to donate can do so at the Vail Mountaineers website.