In a meeting last week, several City Council members said that although they are enthusiastic about the possibility of a new rink, they are leery of the financial ramifications.
"This is big money," said City Councilman Sid Tyler. "I'm not sure where this is going to fit in at the end of the day."
In an interview later, Tyler said that he worried that in the current economic climate, with a credit crisis and an ongoing budget shortfall for Pasadena, committing so much cash to an ice rink may not make sense.
Pastucha said that there was optimism within the city that the financial crisis has "created some turmoil in the construction marketplace" and that when the project is sent out to bid again early next year, costs will be more favorable for the city. He said he hopes that construction would begin next summer and last about 16 months.
Jon Dudley, vice-president of the Pasadena Maple Leafs, the region's oldest hockey club, which operates out of the Pasadena rink, said that the process of building a new rink in Pasadena had been slow, but "it's the city, and they don't want to rush through something that doesn't work."
Back at the ice rink, 10-year-old Justin Wang was getting ready to step onto the ice. Dressed in black, a mask obscuring his face, Justin said that he'd started hockey after a friend had had a birthday party at the rink. He'd given up soccer to skate, he said, and now came there twice a week. "It's kind of old," he said of the rink. "And we have to share the ice with" other players.
Justin's mother, Rosita Wang, said that she wished there was a warm room for hockey parents, but "at least there's coffee" in the present space.
"I like the parties, the people and the coaches," said Justin. "I have friends here."
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cara.dimassa@latimes.com
