Escondido Ice Proposal

First Strides

The First Strides Try Skating for Free program offers first-time skaters the chance to get on the rink and learn how to skate for free. The two-week mini Learn to Skate session will introduce skaters to the basics of skating, including how to sit & stand up on the ice, marching & gliding. Classes are led by professional skating staff.

Learn to Skate

The Learn to Skate program at The Rinks & Great Park Ice is home to thousands of skaters across Southern California. Hundreds of brand-new skaters begin their on-ice journey led by experienced and professional training staff. The growing program offers skaters paths in general skating skills, hockey, and figure skating.

Public Skating

Public ice skating is a great way for skaters of all ages to get on the ice. Countless skaters have discovered their passion by attending a public session and continue their development in the First Strides and Learn to Skate programs. Public skating is a great event for birthday parties, family gatherings, and work events.

A preliminary fiscal and economic impact analysis prepared by London Moeder Advisors, a San Diego based firm, estimates that Escondido Ice would generate:

Recurring annual City revenues: $237,302

Preliminary one-time construction impacts

• 150 direct construction jobs
• $12.3 million in direct construction-related wages
• $440,697 in indirect and induced regional labor income

Preliminary recurring operational impacts

• $511,723 in recurring annual labor income
• $10.9 million in recurring annual economic output from stabilized operations

San Diego Jr. Gulls

• The San Diego Jr. Gulls and Jr. Gulls Girls joined the Irvine Ice Foundation (IIF) organization in October 2020. More than 150 youth hockey players make up the Jr. Gulls program​

• The Jr. Gulls are the largest youth hockey program in San Diego and one of the top programs in California, consisting of teams from 8-U to 18-U for more than 40 years

• The Jr. Gulls have developed players that have progressed to the NHL, other professional leagues, NCAA, Junior A Tier 1 & 2, and the USA Hockey National Team Development Program

San Diego Jr. Gulls Girls

• The San Diego Jr. Gulls Girls launched in 2016 and has grown to six teams in four years from 8-U to 19-U. The program has developed players to the NCAA Division 1 and 3 levels withplayers also representing Team USA at the international level​

• USA Hockey recognized The Rinks, the Jr. Ducks, and the Lady Ducks as Model Club Associations dedicated to age-appropriate, age-specific skill development, in accordance with USA Hockey's American Development Model​

• The Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League (ADHSHL) was launched in 2008 with one team before exploding to the current 55 total teams​

• Six ADHSHL teams are formed from players across 58 San Diego County schools including: Carlsbad United (8 schools), Cathedral Central (9 schools), La Jolla Country Day (13 schools), Poway (8 schools), Pacific Ridge (9 schools), San Diego Union (11 schools)​

The San Diego Gulls are one of 32 American Hockey League (AHL) clubs and the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Anaheim Ducks. The Gulls enter their 12th season for the current 2026-27 AHL season. The club was born in 2015 and played its first-ever game Oct. 10, 2015 at Pechanga Arena San Diego (then Valley View Casino Center). One of 32 AHL franchises located throughout the United States and Canada, the Gulls have led the league in attendance twice in their history (2017-18 and 2018-19) and are they only Pacific Division team to do so. The Gulls own an all-time record of 346-310-51-22, including 177-142-26-14 at home and 165-166-25-8 on the road to rank third in the Pacific Division in all-time wins and in all-time points (765) since the division’s inception in 2015-16. The Gulls are one of three Pacific Division clubs to advance to the Division Finals on three occasions (2016, 2017 and 2019).

Managed by the Irvine Ice Foundation, all proceeds generated by the complex are reinvested into growing ice sports and recreational opportunities throughout the local community.

The $115 million, 280,000-square-foot complex welcomes more than one million participants and visitors annually, making it the largest ice facility in California and one of the most expansive in the United States.

Managed by the Irvine Ice Foundation, all proceeds generated by the complex are reinvested into growing ice sports and recreational opportunities throughout the local community.

Great Park Ice is also home to numerous elite athletes, including 2022 Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen. Professional Women’s Hockey League champions Dom Petrie and Brooke Bryant trained at the facility through the Lady Ducks development program.

The Rinks and Great Park Ice are home to the largest Learn to Skate program in the country and were ranked the top program nationwide, with more than 4,000 skaters enrolled. The facilities also support the largest adult hockey program in Southern California and the largest club hockey program in California.

The venues are the home of the Anaheim Ducks Hockey School League and have hosted four USA Hockey National Championship tournaments, Division I college hockey games, and the Anaheim Ducks Rookie Tournament in 2019 and 2025.

In addition to major hockey events, the facilities have hosted annual National Qualifying Series figure skating events, the NHL’s Sled Hockey Classic, and the Disabled Hockey Jamboree. They have also been featured in national commercials and television productions, including Curling Night in America and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.

Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena served as the primary training facility for four U.S. figure skaters at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, including Nathan Chen, Brandon Frazier and Alexa Knierim, who helped lead Team USA to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in the team competition. ​

Chen became the first singles skater in history to win two gold medals (men’s and team event) at the same Olympic Games, and the first Asian American man to medal in men’s singles.​

Nathan Chen trained under Great Park Ice’s Head Coach of High Performance, Rafael Arutyunyan. Arutyunyan is a four-time Coach of the Year honoree by the U.S. Figure Skating and the Professional Skaters Association (2015, 2016, 2022, 2024) inaddition to being inducted into the PSA Hall of Fame in 2020. ​

Numerous figure skaters who train at Great Park Ice will compete in the 2026 Olympic Games including: 2x World Champion figure skater Ilia Malinin (Team USA), Andrew Torgashev (Team USA)and Sofia Samodelkina (Kazakhstan). ​​

“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, Olympic champion

As of September 2025, nearly 22,500 kids have participated in the Learn to Play program and introduced to hockey.​

Youth hockey participation in Southern California has grown 40 percent over the last 10 years, including several NHL drafted players. Ryan Johnson (Buffalo Sabres) and Cam York (Philadelphia Flyers) were both first-round selections. ​

The Ducks ‘Learn to Play’ program began in Orange County in 2011 with 330 skaters and has grown to more than 4,600 annual participants (including expansion into San Diego). ​

Girl's hockey in California has grown 200% in the past decade. Former Lady Ducks Dominique Petrie, Brooke Bryant and Cayla Barnes were all drafted to the Professional Women’s Hockey League. ​

California has the fastest rate of youth hockey growth in the past seven years.​

California hockey participation (youth and adult) has grown 49% in the past decade. The Southern California region is responsible for most of that growth.

The Rinks Development Program launched in 2009, and now consists of eight local hockey and skating facilities throughout Southern California: six ice rinks (The Rinks - Anaheim ICE, The Rinks - KHS ICE, The Rinks - Lakewood ICE, The Rinks - Yorba Linda ICE, The Rinks - Poway ICE and Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena), as well as two inline facilities (The Rinks - Corona Inline and The Rinks - Irvine Inline). The Rinks offer a variety of hockey and skating programs for participants of all ages and ability levels and are home to thousands of youth and adult hockey players as well as recreational skaters to competitive Olympic figure skaters.

Programs include: daily public ice skating and roller skating sessions, youth and adult hockey programs and leagues, figure skating, learn to skate classes, curling, birthdays and group events. The Rinks Foundation offers subsidized programming to youth to learn how to play hockey.

The complex would be fully funded and constructed entirely by the Rinks Foundation, founded by philanthropists and owners of the San Diego Gulls and Anaheim Ducks, Henry and Susan Samueli. All proceeds generated from the complex would go to further the growth of ice sports and activities locally.

The facility is proposed to be built on city land at Kit Carson Park. Design considerations include three sheets of ice, one of which will feature seating for 2,000 - 3,000 spectators. Escondido Ice will include a restaurant, as will as training and competition facilities. The facility would be home to a diverse offering of activities, including youth, high school and adult hockey programs and tournaments, competitive and recreational figure skating, sled hockey, public recreational skating, curling, broomball and additional community events. In addition, the complex would be used as a practice facility for the San Diego Gulls AHL team and a home for the San Diego Jr. Gulls, Jr. Gulls Girls and high school hockey as part of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League.

In coordination with the City of Escondido, the Rinks Foundation is exploring the feasibility of a three-sheet community ice facility at Kit Carson Regional Park. This project would be a public-private partnership with the City of Escondido, with the City contributing the land and the Rinks Foundation financing, constructing, and then ultimately managing the facility, at no cost to the Escondido taxpayers.

Following a robust community engagement effort, an approval of a lease agreement would be considered by the City Council at a date to be determined. After which, the project would start the entitlement and environmental process, which is expected to take 12-18 months. Construction would follow final approvals.

The City of Escondido was home to a longstanding private ice facility, the Ice-Plex Escondido, that operated for many years, and it unfortunately shuttered in 2020. The Rinks Foundation has identified Escondido as a great growth market for ice sports. In fact, San Diego County only has five ice rinks serving the 5th most populous county in the United States.  

Working with the City of Escondido, we identified that Kit Carson Regional Park is an ideal location, with its proximity to freeway access, retail and shopping, as well as adjacent recreational uses. 

The City of Escondido will be leading the process to engage the community on the relocation of the adult softball fields. The City has identified Francis Ryan Park as a potential relocation site and will be engaging a design firm on next steps. The Rinks Foundation is contributing $4 million to this effort.