The Ames/ISU ice arena is in need of some major renovations.

A committee on the topic has to decide whether or not to make basic improvements, completely renovate the arena or to renovate the arena and add a second rink.

VSC Sports Consultants out of Sherman Oaks Calif., was hired by the city to calculate the demand for ice time and the cost of various upgrades to the existing arena.

Their report said it would take a minimum of $800,000 to make some basic improvements on the arena, which would include putting new flooring, new dasher boards and new plexiglass in the facility.

A complete renovation of the arena would cost at least $3.75 million, and the renovation plus the addition of a second rink would cost nearly $4.5 million according to VSC’s report.

A recent study of the ice arena showed that major ice users wanted about 2,000 hours of ice time last year, which was roughly 500 more hours than was available. This report would support the idea for adding a second rink to the arena.

“We’re in the process of reviewing the report,” said Nancy Carroll, who is an employee of the Ames Parks and Recreation Services and serves on the committee for the arena’s renovation. “In the next couple of weeks we will make some decisions,” she said.

An area of concern to students and Ames citizens is where the funding for the renovations will come from.

Neither the city nor Iowa State has the money to renovate the ice arena. City and university officials agree that private fund-raising is crucial, and that those who use the arena need to be behind any fund-raising efforts.

“We’re not sure how we will go about funding the renovations,” Carroll said. “It’s too premature right now to say. We still need time to digest the information we have received.”

Carroll said their committee will review all of the information and feedback they have received and will make a proposal to the Ames City Council at a later date.

The local committee, which has members from the city, ISU and user groups, has been asked to come up with a long-range plan for the ice arena by the end of this year.

The ice arena, which was built in 1978 with used equipment, is owned by ISU, but is managed by the city’s parks and recreation department.

The arena is used primarily by the Ames figure skating and youth hockey programs, the ISU hockey club and ISU broomball intramural teams. The city also schedules public skating time as well.