Fort Dupont Ice Arena is back open after a nearly $39 million renovation, but some longtime users say getting on the ice has become more difficult under the facility’s new operating model.
The rink, the District’s only indoor ice arena, reopened in December following years of construction and is now operated by D.C. Parks and Recreation, which took over management of the facility after Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena had operated it for decades.
While the nonprofit no longer operates the rink, Executive Director Margo Przyby said it still runs youth skating and hockey programs and has been unable to secure enough ice time at Fort Dupont to bring those programs back to the facility.
“We haven’t been able to secure any ice this summer, which is what led us back to Capitol Clubhouse and the fall is still up in the air,” Przyby said.
That rink is in Waldorf, Maryland, which is an hour away from their old home and she said busing students from the city to Waldorf costs about $3,000 a month.
D.C. Titans Hockey Club President Michele Vaughn said the organization has been unable to secure the regular ice time needed to plan an upcoming season.
“Without Fort Dupont reopening its doors to us, we have not been able to secure regular weekly ice for both practices and games for the upcoming season,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn said limits on advance scheduling make it difficult for youth hockey organizations to lock in the weekly ice time needed to organize practices, games and league play months in advance.
Parents say the situation is creating additional burdens for families.
Ward 7 resident Lora Nunn said many children who want to continue skating or playing hockey now have to travel outside the District.
“My son has friends who still participate in hockey because they can afford the $2,000 to enroll in a program that’s an hour away. They have an au pair who can drive them when their parents have to work. Like the kids in this in this community don’t have any other option,” Nunn said.
Nunn also argued that reduced access to recurring ice time and shorter operating hours have made it harder for families to take part in the skating and hockey opportunities that once existed at Fort Dupont. She said the rink’s previous schedule, which included earlier hours and Sunday operations, created more opportunities for kids and teams to get on the ice.
“The kids in this community don’t have any other option but this,” she said. “In the nation’s capital, we’ve created a situation where we’ve tossed out this great opportunity that’s been built over decades for people in this community.”
Sixteen-year-old skater Aryana Haileab said she expected programs would return to normal once renovations were complete.
Instead, she said, skaters have been forced to find ice time elsewhere.
“It was heartbreaking to find out,” Haileab said. “It was like a surprise, honestly. So it’s just been a lot harder to find ice time and to get to practice my skills.”
Haileab said trips to other rinks can take 30 minutes to an hour, compared with the roughly 15-minute drive her family made to Fort Dupont.
That concerns Raymond Norman, who grew up across the street from the rink and later worked there for 16 years as a facility manager. Norman said he worries the current operating model is limiting opportunities that once connected neighborhood children to skating, hockey and even jobs.
“It gave us an opportunity to do other things other than hang out on the corners and sell drugs or play football, basketball. It gave us an opportunity to explore something different,” Norman said.
In a statement to Â鶹¹ÙÍø, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Director Thennie Freeman said the facility is “operating exactly as intended” and provides “equitable access, strong community programming, and a model that puts District residents first.”
DPR said the arena has welcomed more than 10,000 guests since reopening in December, served an additional 3,500 DCPS fifth graders through learn-to-skate programming and is operating at full capacity.
The agency also said ice time is allocated through a priority system that gives preference to DPR-sponsored activities, schools and nonprofit organizations serving District residents.
The agency also said it does not currently plan to offer season-long ice allocations and that current operating hours are part of a pilot program that will be reevaluated at the end of the fiscal year. DPR said the current model is intended to maximize access and community programming.
However, for families and organizations that grew up around Fort Dupont, the issue remains access to the ice.
Some say children are now traveling to rinks in Maryland and Virginia, simply to continue skating and playing hockey, despite living a short distance from the District’s only indoor ice arena.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 Â鶹¹ÙÍø. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
