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Pettit ice center still slipping
State takeover of oval considered
By ANNYSA JOHNSON
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Saturday, March 9, 2002
The Pettit National Ice Center, which has struggled financially since it opened a decade ago, has been told to resolve its fiscal problems or risk being taken over by the state, officials for the Olympic oval and Wisconsin State Fair Park confirmed this week.
The Pettit, once home to the nation's top Olympic speedskaters, is more than $743,000 behind on lease payments to State Fair Park, according to documents obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
And the park -- which entered this fiscal year $1 million in the hole itself -- is not in a position to continue subsidizing the facility, according to its chief executive officer, Joe Chrnelich.
"We need to solve this problem," said Chrnelich, who took over as CEO late last year. "We're very focused on finding a solution, but if there is not a resolution, we will operate it ourselves or find another organization to run it," he said.
Pettit officials said they were in talks with the U.S. Olympic Committee about ways to stabilize the ice center's financial position, most likely through joint marketing efforts that would allow the Pettit center to make better use of the Olympic rings and designation in its promotional efforts.
In addition, they said, the facility is exploring alternative financing that would allow it to lower its lease payments to the state and spread them out over a longer term.
"We are looking at all the options and intend to come up with a solution," said Charles I. Henderson, chairman of the Pettit National Ice Center Board, which oversees the U.S. Olympic training facility.
State control would only exacerbate the Pettit's financial problems, said Fran Croak, a director...
