In the 53rd day after the closure of the Culver City Ice Arena, owner Michael Karagozian, in no hurry to turn the lights back on, is preparing to entertain offers from prospective lessees.
“Nothing is new,” he says, “just continuing with the decommissioning,” which began two weeks ago today.
“Next, the ice has to melt. That all should be done by the end of the week. There are a few other things they have to do. In a couple of weeks, I would say, everything will be completed.”
Once the legendary rink, begun a half-century ago by his late parents, is ready for occupancy, Mr. Karagozian will push back from his desk and await knocks on his door from prospective suitors.
Nearly two months after the departure of lessee John Jackson, who ran the arena for three decades, the owner figured he would be coasting along. But a series of rumbles and confrontations have been thundering through Mr. Karagozian’s life since Mr. Jackson’s lease expired.
Not least among his head-thumpers was a legal showdown with City Hall, which barred entry to the arena after ordering the owner to ameliorate an alleged “public health hazard,” potentially leaking ammonia.
By mid-April, all major problems with the Ice Arena should have been satisfied, and Mr. Karagozian will await the rapping on his door to begin.
The loudest knocks are expected from the Kings, long rumored to be the next lessee.
