George Sulyan was just 5 years old when he nervously wobbled onto the ice to learn how to skate at the Los Angeles Kings Valley Ice Center in Panorama City.
George’s mother, Lilit Sulyan, said he reminded her of the animated Disney character Bambi – valiantly trying to stay upright on unsteady legs, repeatedly falling but quickly getting back up.
“He was really scared, but he never complained or gave up,” she recalled with a happy chuckle.
Over the 12 years that followed, the LA Kings Valley Ice Center became like a second home for George and his fellow teammates in the popular California Heat ice hockey youth club.
But they were shocked when, without any prior warning, the center’s owners recently announced they plan to shut down and demolish the facility’s main ice rink, leaving only the second, smaller rink for public use, to make way for the development of a new medical facility for seniors.
The unexpected news left California Heat players and their parents reeling: the closure would leave scores of youth athletes without their home base, where they host home games and hold team tryouts, training sessions, hockey camps and practice weekly for home and travel games.
The planned demolition, which will include the lobby and pro shop, is scheduled for June 1. The LA Kings professional hockey team lends its name to the Valley Ice Center via a branding agreement, but the team doesn’t own the facility and wasn’t involved in the recent decision.
“It just hurts … finding out [so suddenly] that it’s going to be gone pretty soon,” said George, now 17 and a junior at Grover Cleveland Charter High School in Reseda. “I’ve been going to the rink at least four times a week – for training, practicing, competitions. The staff, the coaches, the parents are always there, putting in their time, their efforts and always showing up for us.”
Regarding his teammates, “they’re like my brothers,” described George. “That’s how close and tight we are. The [LA Kings Valley Ice Center] has been a place where we bonded as a family.”
“I loved having my son grow up with the California Heat youth program and families,” added Sulyan. “He is the young man he is because of the wonderful coaches – they taught him to love the game of hockey, and the discipline and respect that he learned on the ice is what makes him the amazing person he is today. … We don’t want to see our ice rink end up getting demolished.”
Alana Billingsley, a member of California Heat’s executive board, commended the program’s “passionate parents” for their enduring commitment to the club. While the planned closure of the larger ice sheet will affect the broader community – from figure skaters to the curling community to an adult hockey league – she believes the youth hockey players will be the most directly impacted, in part because California Heat is the largest youth club in the region. Though the numbers vary year to year, last season they had nearly 200 youth players across 12 co-ed teams.
The players will still be able to practice in the remaining rink at the LA Kings Valley Ice Center, but they will no longer have access to a regulation-size ice rink, which is required for youth hockey competitions per SCAHA (Southern California Amateur Hockey Association) guidelines.
That poses a huge problem, explained Sulyan and fellow California Heat mom Amy Feder. The requirement makes it virtually impossible to simply relocate to any other ice rink facility – which are already few and far between in LA County, especially in the San Fernando Valley – because some don’t have regulation ice sheets. And the ones that do, such as LA Kings Ice at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank or The Cube in Santa Clarita, already have their own youth hockey clubs.
One possible future option could be the planned Reseda Skate Rink, which is currently under development on Sherman Way near Lindley Avenue. Unfortunately, noted Feder, she’s heard the project is over budget and its projected completion date has been pushed back multiple times.
Feder, who has two sons, ages 13 and 15, in the youth hockey club, described it as a “punch in the gut” to find out about the impending demolition so abruptly, without any prior discussion.
“We probably could have come up with a really good solution if we had just been talking to each other from the beginning,” said Feder, who serves on California Heat’s community engagement committee. She said the owners didn’t inform or consult with anyone ahead of the recent announcement – not the players, their parents or California Heat’s officers or board members.
“We’ve got hundreds of families we have to think about, and we have a clock that we didn’t know was going to be running out on us,” she said. “We would love to save the [LA Kings Valley Ice Center]. … Do I know if that’s possible? I don’t. It’s not lost on us that these are businesses, and [the owners] have to make business choices. We just want … to have some additional time to figure things out and coordinate moving our families to a new home.”
Teresa Corrington, another California Heat parent, hopes they will find a solution soon without disrupting the club’s planned upcoming team tryouts and future games – especially because sports are great for socializing, exercising and setting aside phones and other devices, she said.
“Nowadays, kids want to be on screens 24-7,” she said, noting they don’t miss them on the ice.
Billingsley said club leaders are currently looking for ways to “keep the families together.”
“We’re doing everything in our power to collaborate with the larger SCAHA community to find creative solutions for [places that can be] home ice for this upcoming season,” she said.
Several families and community members have reached out seeking support from their LA City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, who released a statement saying that “programs like California Heat represent real investment in youth development that our communities deserve to protect.”
“My role … is to bring the right people to the table … to have an honest conversation about what comes next,” she stated. “We are in the early stages of those conversations and encourage continued community engagement.”
The California Heat launched a petition via Change.org to help “prevent the closure of the LA Kings Valley Ice Center, preserve the growth and development of our kids … and continue the legacy of youth hockey in the San Fernando Valley.” The petition has nearly 9,000 signatures.
“The Valley Ice Center is where we met amazing families and made so many great memories. My son has enjoyed a wonderful childhood, making lifelong friends and having great mentors, who are so hard to find these days,” said Sulyan, becoming emotional. “I pray we’re able to save the center and California Heat program, so future kids will have the same opportunities he did.”
The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol reached out to management at the LA Kings Valley Ice Center and Scott Floman, co-owner of the facility, for comment. Neither replied by press time.
To view the Change.org petition about saving the LA Kings Valley Ice Center in Panorama City, go to: www.change.org/p/save-the-la-kings-valley-ice-center.