Pittsburgh’s ice rink market is dominated by Black Bear
Nearly a month into retirement, Jim Murphy can’t stop waking up at 4 a.m.
He sold his business — Rostraver Ice Garden — on Oct. 11. But after 30 years of the steady grind he followed seven days a week to open up the rink each morning, his body hasn’t yet made the adjustment.
“Retirement is a beautiful thing,” he said. “It was too much for me, at 75, to continue to run that business.”
Mr. Murphy used to worry about finding a buyer for the company that he put his heart as well as his life savings into. The other thing he didn’t want to see was a new owner converting the ice rink to a different use.
The company that bought him out, Black Bear Sports Group, alleviated both of those concerns. Black Bear is in the business of operating ice rinks and that is how it intends to use Rostraver Ice Garden.
“They got a nice facility, and I got out,” Mr. Murphy said. “It’s good for both of us, I guess.”
With the purchase of the 65,000square-foot facility in Belle Vernon, the privately held Bethesda, Md., company also gained another key asset in a region where it is expanding its market share.
Rostraver Ice Garden is the fifth ice arena Black Bear has purchased since 2015 in the Western Pennsylvania/Ohio region. The sports and entertainment company owns 31 ice rink facilities across the U.S.
But as the company has worked to grow its foot print in this region, its offers to buy ice rink facilities have not always been welcomed in some communities.
The Beaver County Board of Commissioners rejected an offer by Black Bear representatives in 2019 to buy the county’s ice rink.
“Our board was not interested in pursuing any deal with Black Bear,” said Tony Caltury, director of recreation and tourism at Brady Run Ice Arena in Beaver County.
He said the county didn’t want to hand over control of the facility to a private company that might concentrate its programs on hockey and possibly cut back on providing adequate ice time for figure skating and other youth programs.
Other concerns also weighed heavily in the county’s decision, he said.
“They are trying to get a monopoly on the market,” Mr. Caltury said.
“There was a fear in our community that if we were to sell, that the kids would be priced out of hockey,” he said. “Being a county-owned facility, we can keep prices as low as possible.”
Strategic move
From Black Bear’s point of view, the purchase of Rostraver Ice Garden is a strategic acquisition.
“It fits perfectly, geographically with our other ice rinks in the Greater Pittsburgh area and Northeastern Ohio sub-markets, said Murry Gunty, founder and CEO.
“We have a rink in Youngstown; two on the east side of [Pittsburgh]; and one on the south side of town,” he said. “So, this one on the south east side of town fits perfectly.”
Founded in 2015, the company focuses on buying ice arenas in metropolitan areas with strong demographics and an NHL club presence.
Black Bear is owner of the Foundry Adult Hockey League, which is the largest co-ed adult learn-to-play hockey program in the country with about 2,500 players who participate in tournaments held in the 23 cities where the company owns ice rinks.
Other tournament businesses that the company owns include Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, National Girls Hockey League and Defender Hockey Tournaments.
Pittsburgh is an especially key market for the company.
“Pittsburgh is a great hockey town,” Mr. Gunty said. He added that on top of great fan support, the region has everything in place to support hockey for the longterm — that includes strong youth and high school hockey programs and the city being home to one of the best National Hockey League franchises in America — the Penguins.
For hockey fans and hockey league players, this region sits in a geographic sweet spot.
“People can drive to Pittsburgh from all over the adjacent hockey markets like Michigan, upstate New York, New Jersey, D.C and eastern Pennsylvania,” Mr. Gunty said.
“Everyone can drive to Pittsburgh,” he said. “It’s only a three- or four-hour drive. So, it’s a very attractive place to play.”
Other Black Bear-owned ice rinks in this region include Printscape Arena at Southpointe; Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont; Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington; and Deep Freeze Arena in Youngstown.
The Pittsburgh region supports about 30 ice rinks that supply more than 40 sheets of ice used by leagues and individuals. It goes from Youngstown, Ohio, and south Morgantown, W.Va, east to Johnstown and north to Meadville.
Ice rinks in this area earn revenue by charging skaters hourly rates. In the Pittsburgh region, rates typically run from $275 to $350 an hour. One source familiar with the local industry said when Black Bear purchased Printscape about four years ago, the hourly rate immediately shot up to $400 an hour.
Mr. Gunty wouldn’t talk specifically about prices, but he acknowledged Black Bear’s prices might be higher than the region is used to.
“We often purchase old rinks that are at risk of closure due to mismanagement.,” he said. “They often require millions of capital expenditures to survive. Moreover they often are below market in their rates.”
He said the company does raise rates in the markets it operates in to meet what the market can support. “Given the large number of rinks in each market (including Pittsburgh) in which we operate, we have to be very aware of what others charge to ensure that we are competitive.”
For years, Black Bear has
been busy trying to buy its competitors.
Several independent ice rink owners in the region declined to comment on the record for this report.
When asked if the company plans more acquisitions in this region, Mr. Gunty would only say “We’re open to it.”
A balancing act
As a municipal facility, the Mt. Lebanon Ice Center serves users with a diverse program mix rather than focusing on hockey play, said Tim Ishman, ice rink manager.
Groups, clubs and leagues for figure skating and hockey pay a private rental fee of $339 an hour.
During public open skate sessions kids, families and seniors can come in pay between $6 to $9 per individual to participate in those sessions
Mr. Ishman describes the facility as cost-conscious, but not profit-driven.
“You try to fill your ice the best that you can,” he said. “But I think everybody’s mix is going to be a little different, depending on what the area is looking for.
“There are some rinks
that are just hockey only,” he said. “We are a community recreational center. We are a little bit of everything for everybody. That’s our niche.”
Mr. Gunty said Black Bear rinks devote a lot of attention to the youngest ages with learn-to-skate hockey
programs and a free gear program it does in partnership with the Penguins.
Figure skating is a much smaller part of its program, but it’s not left out, he said. Figure skating instructors will be teaching the youngest kids to skate.
“We just want to be good stewards of the game of hockey,” he said.” That’s our role in the market.”
Mr. Gunty said he has been in discussions with Mr. Murphy for close to five years to buy Rostraver Ice Garden. Neither party would disclose the purchase price they agreed on.
Mr. Murphy says he doesn’t miss running the ice rink a bit. He still gets calls, texts and emails from customers wanting to schedule ice time. He gladly forwards everything to his contact at Black Bear.
He takes his dog on walks and rakes at his Bethel Park home leaves to pass the time. He looks forward to some hunting and fishing.
He could never go watch his 9- and 7-year-old grandchildren play hockey at the Spencer Center while he was working seven days a week at the ice rink, and he looks forward to getting more involved now.
“I’m not a kid anymore and it took a toll on me,” Mr. Murphy said of his small business. “I hit a point where I couldn’t do it anymore.”