Palo Alto City Council
May 4, 2026

April 22, 2024 Mr. Ed Shikada City Manager City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Re: Winter Lodge Tennis and Ice SkaNng Facility Lease Extensions Dear Mr. Shikada, The Board of Directors of Community SkaNng Inc. (CSI) dba Winter Lodge is wriNng to you and the City of Palo Alto regarding our current leases for the ice skaNng and tennis faciliNes on Middlefield Road. Our tennis lease expires in 2026. Our ice skaNng lease expires in 2040. CSI is parNcularly interested in requesNng a long-term extension on our tennis site lease #326 with the City of Palo Alto. CSI may also be interested in a long-term extension for the ice skaNng site lease #247 (dependent upon feedback received from the City). Winter Lodge is delighted to be a prime example of a successful Public Private Partnership (PPP) that exemplifies how these partnerships can provide quality services for the community at no cost to the city. CSI very much understands that these leases allow CSI to serve as stewards of City-owned recreaNonal lands. We also are proud partners of the City of Palo Alto in providing effecNve and needed recreaNonal opportuniNes for Palo Alto. CSI would like to discuss our common objecNves related to the future use of these properNes with the City. We respec^ully request your preliminary input and direcNon regarding what you might need in order to ulNmately recommend approval of one or both of the lease extensions to the city council. We also welcome your insights as to how we can best bring about the requested lease extensions. With this in mind we also respec^ully request a meeNng with you (and your staff) to discuss our lease extensions. In anNcipaNon of a meeNng, we have provided some background informaNon regarding our leases and our recreaNonal programs for your review. With regards, Caroline Bliss, MD Linda Stebbins Jensen, MPA President, CSI Board of Directors ExecuNve Director, Winter Lodge WINTER LODGE RECREATIONAL ICE SKATING AND TENNIS PROGRAMS Winter Lodge has successfully operated a seasonal outdoor ice skaNng school and facility on this site for nearly 70 years. The last 40 of those years have been under the current management of the community based 501(c)(3) non-profit organizaNon, Community SkaNng Inc. Winter Lodge has won numerous awards for our outstanding, one-of-a-kind skaNng school and outdoor ice skaNng experience. The awards include NaNonal recogniNon for being the #1 ranked ice skaNng experience in the USA. Winter Lodge’s purely recreaNonal skaNng school is the only one of its kind and has been recognized as the largest in the country. (See afachment for parNal list of awards and recogniNon.) We are proud to be a part of the City’s Parks and RecreaNon Mission to provide quality recreaNon for the ciNzens of Palo Alto, serving over 70,000 people a year. Of those 70,000 people, over 50% are Palo Alto ciNzens. Our weekday, weekend and evening programs afract a wide variety of people and organizaNons. People of all ages, genders, skill levels, and ethniciNes, from individuals to whole families and even non-skaters are regulars at Winter Lodge. Winter Lodge’s tennis program, led by InternaNonally Ranked Pro Kim Grant, is also robust. The program offers both group and individual lessons to the public for all ages and abiliNes also fun, recreaNonal mini-tennis and special needs tennis. On the other end of the spectrum, a number of our serious and dedicated students have been awarded college scholarships for tennis. Our courts are kept in top condiNon and the site is welcoming, with shaded areas for waiNng family members. Like our ice skaNng classes, tennis classes are offered through Palo Alto schools as well as the Palo Alto RecreaNon Department. Ice skaNng and tennis have co-existed on this property for almost 70 years. The seasonal nature of the two sports has proven to be a perfect balance for the full use of the site. The shared parking and shared use of the restroom faciliNes work well and are fully uNlized. Between the two uses, the site usage is close to capacity for most months of the year. Winter Lodge’s skaNng and tennis leases sit on 3.7 acres of dedicated parkland, and the enNre property is zoned Public Facility. In 1985, ProposiNons A and B were wrifen to preserve Winter Lodge and outdoor ice skaNng in Palo Alto. Those proposiNons passed with record-breaking numbers in support of the “land swap” to acquire the land on Middlefield Road as permanently dedicated park land. Winter Lodge has been an excellent steward of this park land. Between the two lease holds, we have invested over 2.5 million dollars over the past two decades in both major improvements and smaller improvements designed to enhance the guest experience. (See afached financial informaNon.) As a prime example of a successful Public Private Partnership, Winter Lodge has accomplished all of this at no cost to the City of Palo Alto, with the excepNon of the use of the dedicated park land. Winter Lodge is 100% operaNonally funded and has weathered the ongoing storms of several recessions, the decline of the Midtown business district, declining numbers of children in town and COVID. Winter Lodge is the longest-operaNng business in Midtown and the oldest ice skaNng rink in the Bay Area. Winter Lodge is a favorite party venue choice for individuals, schools, families and businesses (see afachment). Our facility enhancements (such as fireplaces, accent lighNng, seasonal decoraNons, covered party areas, an arNficial snow machine, hot chocolate dispensers and ice bears) all make an ice skate ouNng feel extra special to our guests. Our history is long and storied. We do our best to honor that history while also ensuring that we run an up-to-date, successful, sustainable program so that generaNons of future Palo Alto ciNzens will have the opportunity to enjoy our unique programs and facility. Our established record of offering top quality faciliNes and programming comes with costs. We anNcipate that we will conNnue to need to invest millions of dollars over the next few decades to keep our faciliNes in top condiNon, keep the aestheNcs updated and make regular upgrades. We have an upcoming plan for an enNre overhaul of the electrical systems across the enNre skaNng and tennis site which will likely cost over a half-million dollars. This project will require years of planning. That, along with other necessary upcoming projects like resurfacing the tennis courts and parking lots and conNnuing to upgrade our facility aestheNcs, gives us the need to have a long-term lease in effect for both sites in order to jusNfy the huge outlay of costs for these long-range projects. In conclusion, Winter Lodge desires to conNnue to run our award-winning recreaNonal programs in ice skaNng and tennis and to serve the youth and families of Palo Alto for decades to come. The Nming for this lease extension will be helpful in moving our upgrade projects and fundraising efforts forward. It will also ensure the conNnued top-notch operaNon of this well-loved public facility. We respec^ully request your direcNon regarding what you might need in order to ulNmately recommend approval of the lease extensions to the city council and bring about the requested lease extensions.