Nathaniel Rosenberg photo
Deputy CAO Rebecca Bombero and City Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli pitch city-Albertus Magnus deal.
The Albertus Magnus women’s hockey team might soon have their own locker room at Ralph Walker Ice Rink, pending approval of a new five-year agreement between the city and the local Catholic college.
That new locker room is part of a proposed deal between the college and city that extends the Falcons’ access to the rink, which first began with a deal in 2018, until at least 2029, with an option to continue until November 2034.
The city-Albertus agreement was discussed at a monthly meeting of the Board of Park Commissioners, held Wednesday night in the commission’s conference room at 720 Edgewood Ave. The proposal is still before the Board of Alders, which will have final say on whether or not to approve the agreement.
Most of the agreement, which sees the city own and maintain the rink while Albertus Magnus rents ice time for its Division III varsity men’s and women’s teams, remains unchanged from 2018. But the college is looking to move the varsity women out of their current digs — aka, borrowing the men’s lockers and using a storage trailer — and into a separate 1,600-square-foot locker room to match the men’s team.
Now, the college just needs city approval to start building. They’re hoping to complete the renovation in time for the team’s 2025 – 26 season. That’s what brought representatives of the city and college to the parks commission meeting on Wednesday.
“This gets the women a comparable locker room to the men, which is really important for parity’s sake,” Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero told the commissioners.
Bombero said that Albertus Magnus plans to cover the locker room construction costs with a portion of a $3.1 million grant that the college received last year from the state’s Community Investment Fund.
She also clarified, in response to questioning from Commissioner Harvey Feinberg, that the new construction would not change the amount of parking available to residents.
Lauri Strimkovsky, Albertus Magnus’s vice president for finance and administration, said that investing in the hockey teams was part of the college’s strategy of using athletics to attract students. She also pitched the commissioners on a section of the renegotiated agreement that commits the college to provide over 200 hours of community service at the rink, mostly programming for New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) students.
West Hills/West Rock Alder Honda Smith asked how the new locker room would impact the unionized city maintenance workers at Walker Rink, who won a grievance against the city in February because subcontractors were being hired to complete their work.
Bombero said that while union workers would continue to staff games at the rink, Albertus Magnus would be responsible for the maintenance of the women’s locker room, as it is for the men’s.
While the members of the commission seemed supportive of the deal for new lockers — which Parks Commission Chair David Belowsky clarified would be made of wood — they were unable to vote on the matter, as only three of the eight commissioners were present, one short of a quorum.
Parks Commissioners Harvey Feinberg and David Belowsky listened to, but couldn't vote on, the locker room deal.
