A 20-year-old nonprofit skating club is operating without a contract at Everett's publicly owned ice rink after months of failed negotiations with Oak View Group, the private firm that manages the facility, and the dispute has now landed before City Council.

The Everett Figure Skating Club says Oak View Group is squeezing it out of the Angel of the Winds Arena Community Ice Rink by launching a competing program, pushing the club's sessions to late-evening hours, and refusing to sign a license agreement that would guarantee recurring ice time. Oak View Group denies the allegations and says it remains committed to renting ice to the club.

The standoff leaves Everett families in limbo before the school year begins in September, with no signed agreement governing when the club's young skaters can practice.

What changed

The club and the rink operated under a license agreement through April 2026 that reserved specific weekly time slots. When that contract expired, club president Dottie Medalia proposed new language preventing the facility from duplicating or interfering with the club's U.S. Figure Skating programming.

The Everett Public Facilities District's attorney rejected the proposal, writing that it "would raise significant concerns under state law prohibiting the gifting of public resources." EPFD board president Ryan Crowther said in a letter to the mayor and council that the proposed terms would lock the facility into discounted rates and guaranteed times the district does not offer any other user group.

As of Friday, July 31, the club carried more than $11,000 in unpaid bills to the rink. The club disputes roughly $4,000 of that total, saying charges were added after its Blades on Broadway competition earlier in 2026 without prior notice.

The club brings in less than $50,000 in annual revenue, according to IRS records. No other organization renting ice at the facility has an outstanding balance, according to the Everett Herald, which first reported the dispute.

Competing programs, late hours

Oak View Group plans to launch its own Aspire figure skating program this fall. Aspire is a U.S. Figure Skating bridge between introductory Learn to Skate classes and competitive skating. The club has run its own Aspire program at the rink for about two years.

Richard Dana, Oak View Group's assistant general manager and director of operations for the Everett Events Center, said at the Thursday, July 30 council meeting that the new program is about growth, not competition.

"It's not about competing with the figure skating club, it's not about taking anything away from them," Dana said. "It's about providing programming that we know we can run and that we can succeed with."

Medalia said the similar program names have already confused parents. She also pointed to the club's Theater on Ice sessions, currently scheduled from 7:40 to 8:40 p.m. once per week. If those late times carry into the school year, she said, parents of children ages 8 to 10 will pull their kids.

Dana said the club's ice times have not changed over the past year. Rink director Patrick Houlihan acknowledged that some summer sessions ran later than normal due to high demand.

Who's in charge

The Everett Events Center is owned by the Everett Public Facilities District, a public entity formed by the city in 2001. The city holds a ground lease with the EPFD running through 2041. Oak View Group handles day-to-day operations under contract.

Mayor Cassie Franklin said at the July 30 council meeting that state law limits the city's oversight because the EPFD is managed by its own board of directors. That leaves the club with few avenues beyond the EPFD board itself.

What's next

The club submitted a request for fall ice times the week of July 28. Dana said Oak View Group will issue a new agreement once a fall schedule is finalized. No deadline has been set.

Medalia says the club needs just four recurring weekly time slots across the year to sustain its programs.

Oak View Group has committed to the club's Christmas show on Sunday, December 20, its Blades on Broadway competition in March, continuing test sessions, and maintaining the club's "home ice" designation.

Whether those commitments survive without a signed contract remains the open question as September approaches.