Ralph Walker Ice Rink Operator Request for Proposals

The City of New Haven (“City”) seeks qualifications from experienced firms or organizations to manage, operate, and maintain the Ralph Walker Ice Rink, located at 1080 State Street, New Haven. The selected operator will provide professional management of rink operations, ice maintenance, scheduling, programming (for both ice-skating season and non-ice-skating season, and customer service consistent with community needs and City policies.

The Ralph Walker Ice Rink is composed of an outdoor covered ice rink, an indoor building that includes: concessions, restrooms, and a multi-purpose event room, and a separate building that includes indoor locker rooms and maintenance and mechanical rooms. In partnership with the City, Albertus Magnus College is constructing a new building to house locker rooms for its women's ice hockey team.

The ice rink is a municipal facility, regulation 200' x 85' rink and supports ice hockey, figure skating, and open skate activities. The entire facility was renovated in phases between 2017 and 2020. Those renovations included the installation of a new rink floor, refrigeration system, dasher boards, bleachers, sound system, and community/locker room buildings.

Existing partners for the rink include Albertus Magnus College (Division III Hockey), New Haven Public Schools, and various hockey and skating club.

Adjacent to the facility, additional renovations are planned for Blake Field. This includes the installation a segment of the Mill River Greenway Trail.

With an expected start date of May 2026, the contracted operator will be responsible for operating recreational programs within the rink. These should prioritize winter-time use of the ice rink but respondents are also encouraged to propose ideas for operating the facility year-round, including summer programming on the ice rink slab and within the surrounding park. The operator will be responsible for scheduling programming, ensuring that open skate times are provided to the public, operating concessions, providing equipment rentals, advertisement, promotions, customer interactions, and basic facility maintenance and upkeep.