The city’s decision to announce the permanent closure of the Mimi Dome reflects a woeful lack of foresight, imagination and appreciation for the role that funky, old ice rink in Patterson Park plays in service to an important social mission.
It was reported over the weekend that Baltimore City Recreation and Parks will make repairs to reopen the Dominic “Mimi” DiPietro Family Seasonal Skating Center for the winter, then close it for good after the 2025-2026 skating season.
That plan begs a question: If the rink is in such bad shape that it should be permanently closed, why bother making repairs at all? And taxpayers might further ask why these dire announcements are being made now, when numerous users of the Mimi Dome are eager to get their seasons started.
Problems at the Mimi did not develop overnight.
Above all, do Mayor Brandon Scott, members of the Baltimore City Council and the Baltimore City Board of Recreation and Parks have any awareness of what takes place under the Mimi Dome?
Since the 1990s, volunteers from nonprofits — the Tender Bridge, Hockey In The Hood, Baltimore Youth Hockey — have been using Patterson Park ice to introduce some of the poorest children in Baltimore to hockey and a team sport experience.
Hundreds of them have benefited from the Patterson Park Stars, a program — stand by for disclaimer — I personally supported years ago as one of many volunteers who worked with children on and off the ice.
I wrote this last winter and restate it here: The $2,700 grant that went to establish the Patterson Park Stars in 1999 might have been, dollar for dollar, the most beneficial philanthropic investment the Abell Foundation ever made.
The program is still rolling along. Last February, some 80 kids were registered, with between 40 to 50 of them showing up for skating lessons and hockey skills training each Sunday morning.
In addition to the Patterson Park Stars, some 55 teenagers and young adults played hockey games under the Mimi Dome as the Baltimore Banners. Volunteers established the Banners to give underprivileged teens who aged out of the Patterson Park Stars a place to play. It has received philanthropic support and excellent local and national press coverage, including a photo and video array in The New York Times.
In addition, local schools bring students to the Mimi Dome to give ice skating a try, and the Boys Latin hockey team practices there.
In fact, the Patterson Park rink helped get high school hockey restarted after it was built in 1968, providing an additional ice surface in a city starved for more. It was originally an outdoor rink; the dome was added later. A winter storm took it down in 1996, but it was rebuilt and has stood ever since.
The city says the rink is closed due to the integrity of a wall on a structure that houses the ammonia refrigeration unit. That’s no doubt a serious issue; ammonia is highly toxic and a leak of it would pose a risk to public safety.
But it’s hard to imagine that a wall cannot be repaired in some permanent way — or the refrigeration unit replaced with one that does not use ammonia. They exist. You can look it up.
Making such changes to save the Mimi Dome would take some planning and some money. And none of that happens without a vigilant city government that appreciates the importance of the social missions underway under the Dome, along with civic-minded leadership and a vision for the rink’s potential.
None of that accompanied the weekend announcement about the Mimi Dome closure. No one in the city government expressed regret or promised a new plan.
Maybe it’s time for the city to turn over the decision-making and management of the rink to an independent board of rink users. (I’d be glad to volunteer for it.)
Maybe a philanthropist or foundation would step in, if asked, to donate a new refrigeration unit, or even help the city finance a new rink altogether.
In 2022, the National Hockey League honored Noel Acton, founder of the Tender Bridge, for his efforts to get at-risk kids to the Mimi Dome week after week for years. The NHL awarded Acton’s charity $25,000.
Someone needs to go back to the NHL and make it clear: The Baltimore hockey programs for at-risk youth the league celebrated only three years ago are jeopardized by the city’s neglect of the rink and its done-with-it attitude.
Looking at the bigger picture, eliminating another municipal rink furthers the elitist nature of the sport. Private corporations are buying rinks and charging teams or programs more than $500 an hour to use them. Public or non-profit rinks charge far less and keep hockey accessible. If USA Hockey and the NHL want to see the sport grow and become more diverse, they might want to get involved. A million here, a million there, and we might repair the Mimi Dome or have a new permanent rink run by people who care about it.
Dan Rodricks writes weekly for the Fishbowl. He can be reached via danrodricks.com
While most of my hockey was played at Orchard Ice Rink in Bainesville…I played some pick-up games at Patterson Park when it was an outdoor ice rink. If kids are involved in a sport, they are not getting in trouble via bad influences. Maybe a Police Department grant could help as well…Bill Krozack
1. This rink long ago outlived its usefulness, it was built in 60s and still runs on the same equipment that is now obsolete. 2. The bubble is in terrible shape and its many tears and rips have been patched up many times, but it’s time is up. 3. The lobby is a very old block building that lacks the amenities commonly found in newer rinks. 4. Locker rooms for hockey are deplorable. 5. Parking is a huge challenge when a crowd shows up for public skating or for hockey. 6. The ice itself is a huge challenge to keep level as the slab underneath the ice is warped. 7. BCRP wil attempt to repair the chillers that circulate ammonia through a system of pipes under the convrete slab on which the ice is made. The system as a whole is obsolete, so simply putting in a new circulator will not work. How do I know all this? I am the co-founder of Banners Hockey, ran the program for 17 years, and myself played hockey at the rink in 1971 when it was oncovered. I know every inch of the place and it’s time is long over. The City proposed building a new rink facility 10 years ago, but not a word about it has been heard since. While a rink located in the park is ideal for all its current users, but Canton is a lot closer than the Mt. Pleasant rink. Here’s the email address for the BCRP director, Reginald Moore: Reginald.moore@baltimorecity.gov Write to him and tell him the City needs a rink in East Baltimore.