Parents in Northern Virginia are upset that their ice rink is closing to become an entertainment venue and convention hall.
Ion International Training Center is a massive, two-rink ice skating and ice hockey facility. It serves hundreds of young figure skaters and the Loudoun Knights hockey club, but the owners announced they will melt the ice and renovate the facility.
"I have an obligation to my investors, I have an obligation to my employees, I have to make everybody happy, and sometimes you just can't do that and you have to follow the numbers, as much as it breaks my heart," owner Mitra Setayesh said.
She said the NHL-size rinks will close in a few weeks. This has been in the works for several months.
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Skaters, coaches and employees say they learned this was happening while Ion was hosting a vigil and a memorial for the figure skaters killed in the American Airlines midair collision last month.
"Just days before they had filed the permits to melt the ice, so it felt like a betrayal," employee Jianna Milan said.
Alicia Geaneas, whose daughter takes lessons at Ion, said the timing of the news couldn't be worse for her daughter and her friends.
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"It's so sad to have this tragic thing happen, have this community come together and honor the deaths of these people and then immediately turn around say, 'Oh, so sorry, we're selling our rink, now, so your community is no longer,'" Geaneas said.
Parents are rallying to try to save the ice rink, but the changes are happening regardless. The owners said they hope to break ground on renovations this spring.
"I know people are mad; I know people are sad,” Setayesh said. “It's breaking my heart to take this away from them, but there's no other way around it."
Parents said the Leesburg Town Council will host a town hall Tuesday at 7 p.m. to hear concerns.
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