Last winter’s "Ice at Santa Monica" seasonal skating activation was more successful than anticipated, according to a recent report presented by the Downtown Santa Monica Inc. (DTSM) Marketing and Business Development Committee.
Every year, the corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue is transformed into an ice skating rink, but last year DTSM partnered with specialist company Willy Bietak Productions, Inc. to produce something never seen before in the city.
Opened on November 1 last year, the 2023-24 project was 25% bigger than any other previous year, plus there were s’mores from S’moreology and clear boarding around the boundary edges to create a bigger, more open experience.
In previous years, the rink had been constructed upon tons of flattened sand, but that wasn’t particularly cost effective and it was extremely problematic to clear up afterwards. Last year, the entire ice rink structure was constructed upon a wooden framework that has been painstakingly laid flat over the uneven surface of the parking lot space using laser levels.
The 2022-23 season saw 50,813 skaters between the dates of Nov. 16 to Jan. 16, with a rink revenue of $1,053,767 and total DTSM expenditure of $1,099,767. The 2023-24 season saw 53,910 skaters between the dates of Nov. 1 to Jan 15, with a total rink revenue of $1,096,792 and a total DTSM expenditure of $126,829.
Andrew Thomas, DTSM CEO, explained during the meeting that in previous years, visitors would buy a ticket, get a wristband and would be able to skate all day. For the 2023-24 season, the activation shifted to sessions and as such visitors would skate for one hour, unless there was a space on the ice, which meant you could skate a bit longer. Adopting a session-based ticketing structure, Thomas explains, provided predictability.
"So before we couldn’t sell tickets online and you couldn’t book your time in advance because we were never sure how much space would actually be available on the rink," he said during the meeting.
Regarding the admission fee, DTSM makes approximately 25 cents on the dollar, which makes a total of just under $240,000. On the sponsorship deal with Netflix, DTSM made $220,000. There were other incomings and outgoings including fire pits, concession stands and events and such like, but "the lion’s share of revenue came from admissions and sponsorship."
There is one outstanding expenditure, which is an invoice for electricity from Edison, but Thomas told the Daily Press, "Our financial report includes pricing for utility costs, which we are clarifying now. The cost of utilities at the ice rink will likely decrease once we receive final statements from Edison."
With expenditures of approximately $127,000, the net profit is just under $389,000. DTSM has a contract with the City of Santa Monica to use lot 27 and any profit over $300,000 is divided with the City, a figure under that amount does not have to be shared. Because DTSM went over that by $88,950, they write a check to the City for $44,475 and thus DTSM makes $344,475.
"It’s better than what we shared last year," Thomas said. "So this year, we were pretty bullish on how the rink would perform this year, we were guessing about $310,000 is what we might bring in, in revenue. So we exceeded that which is great. And hopefully next year, we can keep doing that."
The Ice at Santa Monica activation was open for 11 weeks, or 76 days, had 563 sessions with just 14 sessions rained out. During that time, 53,910 skaters were in attendance, with 123,993 visitors in total. There were a number of hosted weekly themed events including, but limited to, Abba Disco Night, Pride Night, Holiday Pet Pageant, Ugly Holiday Sweater Night and yes, even Taylor Swift’s birthday.
"The 2023-2024 Ice at Santa Monica season was successful financially and, more importantly, as a community benefit. We were open for more days, with more opportunities to skate than in the 2022/2023 season. The weather certainly helped this year, but we also switched our business model to allow for online ticket sales, which enabled us to guarantee spots on the ice for more skaters than ever before," Thomas told the Daily Press.
"Our title sponsor, Netflix, showed a lot of love to the Santa Monica community by covering the cost for every skater during many peak days and times, including over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Friday before Christmas, and the day after Christmas," Thomas said.
