Ice Zone skating ‘moves forward’ from foreclosure case

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ice Zone skating rink avoided foreclosure after its owners reached a deal with PNC Bank.

Both parties entered into a two-year agreement, said William A. Weimer, B.J. Alan Co. vice president and general counsel.

“The Ice Zone moves forward,” he said.

According to a judgment entry filed March 10 in U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, the federal court ruled that Bruce J. Zoldan, co-owner of the Ice Zone, and business partner Thomas E. Hutch owed more than $1.8 million of the principal, accrued interest and late charges on the note for the facility at 360 McClurg Road and on vacant land on McClurg.

The Ice Zone property, under Ice Zone Realty Ltd., is valued at about $1.8 million, and the vacant land, under the Zoldan Hutch Land Partnership, is valued at $196,080, according to the Mahoning County auditor’s website.

The court ruled that the owners are in default on the balance of a $2,826,475 promissory note.

Earlier this month, the parties entered into a new forbearance and modification agreement. PNC Bank cannot foreclose the properties unless the owners of Ice Zone default on the new agreement. In the case of a default, PNC Bank can increase the interest rate by 2 percent on the note.

According to Vindicator files, PNC Bank filed the complaint in January, which claimed the owners owed $1,793,815 in principal and accrued interest and late charges.

The Ice Zone opened in 1997, and since then has been through some difficult times. In February 2013, the owners announced the facility would close in May of that year because of the lack of interest in hockey in the Mahoning Valley, according to Vindicator files.

In August 2013, however, the rink reopened after the Youngstown Phantoms worked out an agreement with the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown for a fifth season. Zoldan told The Vindicator in August 2013 the facility would reopen under a new business model.

Zoldan is the president and chief executive officer of the B.J. Alan Co., known for its Phantom Fireworks, and co-owner of the Youngstown Phantoms hockey team that uses the ice rink as a part-time practice facility.