AUSTIN (KXAN) — An ice rink operator and landlords in Cedar Park are at odds after the operator was locked out of the facility and had its lease terminated in February.
Chaparral Ice, who operated the rink and fields at Cedar Park athletic facility The Crossover, posted a letter on its Facebook page accusing the facility's landlord of not letting them get their property off the grounds. The letter said the property is "worth millions of dollars," and they need to sell the property to "cover our debt obligations."
"The Crossover's landlord chose to continue possessing and using equipment owned by Chaparral Ice, and stop us from retrieving the property," the letter said, in part. "This includes everything from rental skates and furniture to machines critical to the operations of the ice rinks and turf fields. This property is worth millions of dollars, money which Chaparral Ice had to borrow, and now needs to repay."
Chaparral Ice said it offered The Crossover's landlord to buy or rent all the equipment, but said "they did not engage in that discussion," and took legal action claiming their ownership of the property. Chaparral Ice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a result.
Management at The Crossover, however, tells the story differently. They said Chaparral Ice owned the landlord nearly $800,000 before the lease was terminated, and both the landlord and the bank "accommodated four different lease amendments," to help Chaparral Ice stay in the building.
"When the two parties couldn’t agree on a path forward, each party presented a proposal to the bankruptcy court," The Crossover's management said in a statement. "After careful consideration, it decided The Crossover’s proposed path was most reasonable. We are in complete compliance with the court’s rulings."
The Crossover continued to say while it "rooted for their success," management believes the public letter doesn't properly reflect the situation.
"It is incredibly unfortunate the relationship with Chaparral Ice became financially unsustainable, and worse now, that their management team is portraying the landlord as doing anything less than bending over backward to honor commitments to our patrons, our community and to fulfill our mission," The Crossover said.
Chaparral Ice said the court gave them a "short window" to get its property that wasn't "in dispute" with the facility, and they are doing that as quickly as they can.
"We remain hopeful The Crossover's landlord will choose to act in the best interest of fulfilling its important mission — a mission Chaparral Ice was proud to help establish and advance for Cedar Park and the greater Austin community," Chaparral Ice's letter said.
While the disagreement makes its way through bankruptcy court, both groups want the facility to keep operating — that much they can agree on. Chaparral Ice is still operating its rink in the Northcross Mall, located in north Austin on Anderson Lane.
"Regardless of how the legal situation unfolds, Chaparral Ice plans to restructure our financial position and continue our operations, uninterrupted, for skaters, families and teams at Northcross, as we have for the last 26 years," the letter said.
The Crossover, meanwhile, said it will keep operating the facility while in court.
"While our financial disputes work their way through the court system, The Crossover is continuing to keep the ice and field operations functioning — honoring commitments to customers and community organizations, knowing we’re not likely to ever receive full earned fees for such services," the statement said. "We have and will continue to wish Chaparral Ice all the best as it goes through its restructuring."
