After several years of grassroots fundraising efforts — and just weeks shy of opening day for the Belmont Sports Complex: Home of the Skip Viglirolo Rink — a dedicated group of residents is making the final push in what they consider to be the “capstone” of their fundraising campaign.
“We’ve had a short timeline with the fundraising compared to the library, [which has] been at this for many, many years,” said Lucinda Zuniga, who is leading the efforts. “So we wanted to have one last opportunity if there is anybody in the community who hasn’t been in touch with us yet about donating … It’s a good way to make that all happen.”
These fundraising efforts aim to establish a “Belmont Sports Complex Fund,” which will help cover the costs of items not typically included in the facility’s construction or its operation and maintenance budget. Sheryl Grace, who is working alongside Zuniga, said this could include items such as shadow boxes for team photos, or benches for the front of the building.
Zuniga said another potential use of the money could be to help offset costs when, for example, the local school parent-teacher association uses the ice.
“We’re helping make the rink more accessible to the kids and anybody in the community who wants to come out for public skate,” she said.
Municipal Rink Building Committee Chair Mark Haley, who clarified this campaign is not part of his committee’s charge, said it fits into the town’s desire to run the rink as an economically-neutral enterprise.
“This is a municipal rink for the town…so it’s important to understand we have a number of programs…that use ice time for the rink, but you’re not going to charge full rental for those things,” said Haley, who noted the Belmont S.P.O.R.T and other Belmont Youth Hockey’s Learn to Skate as examples of such programs. “Maybe these funds could offset some of the costs associated with those programs.”
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According to Zuniga, this campaign represents the “capstone” of a larger fundraising effort that began in 2023, before voters approved the debt exclusion for the rink. To date, various fundraising campaigns have raised $3,282,000. That includes a $1 million grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and $1 million in state grants.
“We raised $1.2 million in 2023, which helped to offset the amount we were borrowing for the rink, so that was going to rink construction,” she said. “The main message during the rink campaign was that we had private funds offsetting the cost of the rink.”
The second phase, she said, took place last summer, when the Municipal Rink Building Committee went to Town Meeting in June 2024, seeking additional funds after it became apparent the $29.9 million budget would not be sufficient. Ultimately, Town Meeting approved an additional $1.5 million to cover the shortfall, some of which was allocated from the Kendall Fire Fund. More money may have been necessary had fundraising efforts not brought in $132,000 in community donations, according to Zuniga.
This summer, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin orchestrated agreements with various future rink tenants that helped secure donations needed to cover the cost of solar panels.
And now, the fourth and final phase of fundraising efforts includes raising money to help offset some of the unforeseen needs that may arise before or after the rink’s opening in November. According to Mark Haley, Chair of the Municipal Rink Building Committee, ice was expected to be laid down this week.
“This is what I view as the last phase before the ribbon cutting: coming back to the community and saying, ‘If you do want to make a donation, this fund that the rink manager and the town will have spending authority over is a great way to make a gift to the rink,’” Zuniga said.
Donors of $500 or more will be included on a plaque listing the project’s top donors, according to Zuniga. To be included, donations must be made by Friday, Oct. 10.
As part of this final fundraising push, members of the original fundraising committee have reached back out to the 100 families who, back in the summer of 2022, pledged to donate $1,000 in advance of the first ballot question, which ultimately failed. With those pledges null and void, the fundraising committee had merely weeks between the Select Board deciding to put a new question on the ballot and the election in 2023, in which the debt exclusion passed.
“The town always wanted some indication that there was buy-in,” said Grace.
Donations via credit card can be made online via the town’s online payment portal. Select “Donation type — Other,” then type “Belmont Sports Complex Fund.” Checks can be made out to “Town of Belmont” with “Belmont Sports Complex Fund” noted in the memo field and dropped off or mailed to: Attn: Treasurer, 19 Moore St., Belmont, MA 02478.
According to Haley, ice was expected to be laid this week, a process that doesn’t require flooding the rink but rather spraying a mist until the ice sheet reaches the desired thickness, or roughly an inch. The goal is to be ready to open the facility on Nov. 1.
