Ayr Ice Rink is to close its doors later this year after owners blamed an "unprecedented hike in energy costs" for the hammer blow.
Announcing their decision tonight, Ayr Curling Club said they were faced with a rates rise of 110 per cent at the start of October - taking the average cost of daily electricity from £419 to £880. This, they said, signalled the nail in the coffin for attempts to save ice sports in the town, with curlers insisting they have already plunged £153,000 into energy costs this year alone.
Scores of member clubs and hundreds of young ice skaters who use the rink are now set to be left homeless following the devastating news.
Liz Goldie, chair of Ayr Curling Club, said: "On a normal year we aim to just break even and therefore, this increase in our biggest operating cost means that we would have to generate more than £150,000 in additional income just to cover our energy costs never mind wage increases and inflationary increases on all the other expenses of running an ice rink.
"It simply cannot be done and so, with our expenditure going to exceed our income by c£75,000 in the current financial year and double that every year thereafter, we have no alternative other than to cease trading and to seek Members Voluntary Liquidation."
Goldie said curling chiefs had explored options such as solar panels and wind turbines as alternatives sources of power, but had now run out of ice in their bid to stay solvent. She also said talks with South Ayrshire Council over a potential new-build rink had broken down, claiming "their words turned out to be hollow."
Ms Goldie added: "Unfortunately, there is no solution. Warm words from MSPs, MPs, Scottish Curling, the Scottish Ice Rinks Association, SportScotland and South Ayrshire Councillors do not convert into the hard cash required to meet the deficit every year from here on and this has resulted in the Board having no alternative other than to cease trading.
"There is no one more committed to curling, figure skating and ice hockey and the retention of Ayr Ice Rink than the current directors and, undoubtedly, we would have continued as before but for the consequences of Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine. I am just so sorry that it has come to this."
Ayr Figure Skating Club, Kyle Figure Skating Club and Ayr Bruins Ice Hockey are among the clubs set to be left without a home.
South Ayrshire Council leader, Martin Dowey, told the Ayrshire Post: "It is simply not true to say that our words have been hollow. We are still exploring with potential investors the possibility of a new rink in the town of Ayr. We've even gone to the stage of massing a couple of sites and this is an option we are actively exploring."
A spokesperson for Scottish Curling said: "We are extremely saddened to learn of the closure of Ayr Ice Rink and appreciate what difficult a decision this must have been for everyone involved in the running of the facility. Ayr hosts more than 30 clubs with some 500 members, and it is a great shame to see them lose their home ice.
"The current economic situation poses unprecedented challenges to ice rinks across Scotland, as recently witnessed by the announcements by Perth and Kinross Council regarding Dewars Centre in Perth. The hike in energy costs is a very serious issue and rinks also have to contend with inflation running at about ten per cent on all other costs.
"Extensive discussion and debate is needed at this critical time. Meetings have taken place with MSPs, MPs, councillors, governing bodies, and agencies to highlight the situation. This groundwork to scope out the scale of the problem and how to best address it is encouraging, but we need action to come from our lobbying."
"For the time being, the Scottish Curling Board have formed a working group to examine options to support Ayr Ice Rink, as well as other rinks under threat of succumbing to economic and other outside pressures."
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