TROY – The Knickerbacker Arena is closed indefinitely as the city seeks a state grant to pay for half of the $1.15 million project to install new ice-making equipment in the rink.

City officials said in April that plans envisioned switching to a new system that would meet modern environmental requirements and reopening the facility by October in time for hockey season. Those plans now won’t happen.

The City Council voted 7-0 Thursday night in a special meeting to file a consolidated funding application and state Department of Environmental Conservation Climate Smart Communities grant for the rink repairs. The city would receive $575,000 from the state if awarded the grant and would be required to match it with $575,000.

Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski told the council Thursday that the city administration had just learned about the grant and was working furiously to complete the application.

Kurzejeski said the grant was for the rink itself. She said the arena building was not in need of any repairs.

The Knickerbacker Arena is the third major recreational facility the city to be shut down due to maintenance issues. The city’s two pools – Knickerbacker Park and South Troy – were closed in 2017 as unsafe due to disrepair and equipment failure. The pools have now been closed for two swimming seasons.

Councilman Mark McGrath said he doesn’t believe there’s support on the council to pay the full cost of repairing the ice rink without something being done to reopen the pools.

“There’s not a lot of kids from 104th Street to Douw Street that play hockey,” said McGrath, whose 2nd Council District includes Knickerbacker Park where the pool and arena are located.

The city closed the 28-year-old arena in January when the compressor and piping system for the coolant used to make the ice failed. In April, the council’s General Services Committee opted to back a long-term investment estimated at $1.25 million in modernizing the ice-making equipment and installing a new scoreboard and sound system in the arena. The committee decided not to take a chance on short-term repairs at $100,000 to $150,000 that might not last.

The grant application is only for the ice-making equipment, John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Patrick Madden, said Friday. The coolant the city used when the rink was operating is being phased out due to environmental concerns and the city has to switch to a system that is permitted, Salka said.

The original forecast of an October reopening was preliminary, Salka said. When asked about a date for the rink beginning operations again, Salka said, “There is not a tentative date.”

"We're having some fiscal issues right now," Councilman David Bissember, the General Services Committee chairman, said about the financially-strapped city's typical situation.

Bissember said he wants both the arena and the pools reopened. The state grant application, which received bi-partisan support, he said, is the right way to go.

"It's progress. It's the right way to go," Bissember said.

tCouncilman Jim Gulli said he’s not surprised there isn’t a reopening date. Gulli said the city should consider using the arena building for indoor soccer or flag football instead of investing in the rink that is used more by non-residents.

“We have an operation that is utilized by a very small group of residents of Troy,” said Gulli, a member of the General Services Committee.