Montgomery County is soliciting proposals from interested and qualified ice-skating rink operators to manage, operate and maintain the Silver Spring Ice Rink at Veterans Plaza as a first-class outdoor seasonal (October and April each year) ice-skating facility on a management fee basis and without expense to the County. The Silver Spring Ice Rink facility (the “Facility”) that is located on Veterans Plaza in the center of vibrant downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. Montgomery County intends to enter into one (1) contract to provide for the operations, scheduling and maintenance of the facility, the equipment to be provided by the operator and the economic terms of the contract. Montgomery County requires the services of an ice-skating management firm with experience to operate the Silver Spring Ice Rink in a manner that residents and guests of Montgomery County will be provided with an ice-skating facility that is professionally managed, expertly maintained and properly staffed. The Contractor will be required to have a celebratory opening each year to be coordinated with the Silver Spring Regional Center.
Skating at the rink should not be principally conceived as a one-time or touristic experience, but also as a beloved local amenity, used broadly by the whole residential community in Silver Spring, as a winter tradition for the Silver Spring area neighborhoods. As such, all proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be operated as a public facility, with public access and reasonable use rates.
Veterans Plaza was built in 2010 and since then this outdoor area has provided space for wide-ranging community use. Veterans Plaza is an outdoor plaza, which provides a unique space for civil dialogue, summer concerts, outdoor festivals, and live entertainment. The seasonal ice rink is located on Veterans Plaza under a permanent pavilion cover.
The environment around the Ice Rink is one of activity, vitality, a flow of people going to or coming from shopping, work, home, entertainment, and/or recreation. Bethesda Magazine has called Veterans Plaza “one of the community’s most popular destinations” in the Metropolitan Washington Region. From a regional standpoint, Veterans Plaza, located in the downtown Silver Spring’s Central Business District and Arts and Entertainment District, is just minutes from the Nation’s Capital and several hotels.
During the off-season, when the pavilion is not in operation as an ice-skating facility, it is operated by the County as a facility for festivals, concerts, assemblies, civic activities, community events and other similar outdoor activities that draw people and create a comfortable atmosphere for enjoyment. When the Ice Rink is in operation during skating season, the non-pavilion half of Veterans Plaza will be available for public and private use and permitted through the County.
It is the County’s intent to seek proposals from companies with a strong background in the development, operation, and maintenance of high quality seasonal outdoor ice rinks, to ensure that Montgomery County residents can enjoy the healthful benefits of ice skating and the pleasures of a time-honored traditional in the great outdoors. The services to be provided include management, maintenance and operation of the ice rink as a public rink in accordance with a formal contract agreement. The successful proposer shall operate the Silver Spring Ice Rink as an ice-skating rink available for use by the general public with sufficient personnel to maintain the facility and grounds, collect fees, schedule ice time and ensure continuous operation on a seasonal basis.
