Long Beach Seeks Private Firm to Run Ice Arena

The City of Long Beach will once again look to have an outside firm operate its Ice Arena.

This fall the city plans to issue a request for proposal from firms looking to manage the 800-capactiy arena, purchase its naming rights, or partner with the city to renovate the bay front facility, at 150 West Bay Dr., City Council President Len Torres told Newsday. Torres said:

"We're looking for investors, anything that is really a partnership with the city. It's got to be something that works for the city and provides a good return."

The last time Long Beach contracted out the arena, city officials had the operator, Bernard Shereck, evicted from the facility for alleged nonpayment of $175,000 in rent. Shereck responded by filing a lawsuit demanding that the city provide him with a long-term lease in 2009.

Shereck, who had run the ice skating rink since October 2006, said in court papers that if the city refused to give him a lease for at least five years, he would then demand that the city reimburse him more than $250,000 for renovations he said he has made to the city-owned arena.

The city manager at the time, Charles Theofan, disputed that major renovations were made and added that Sherack did not pay rent for about a year-and-a-half, amounting to about $200,000 in lost revenue for the city, which should nullify any claims Shereck made for reimbursement. 

The case is scheduled in Nassau County Supreme Court on Aug. 3.