Those are not stained glass windows, simply the sunset as seen from the interior of the new Sports Basement opening on Tuesday next week. Photo: courtesy Sports Basement Sports Basement will open in the former Berkeley Iceland location on Tuesday next week, 10 days later than originally forecast. It will follow with a “Grandish Snowpening” on Saturday, Nov.15, […]
Berkeley Iceland
Posted inBusiness
Sports Basement to open Nov. 1 at Berkeley Iceland site
In June, crews began to convert the former Berkeley Iceland property into the building that will house Sports Basement beginning in November. Photo: Ted Friedman There are mounds of dirt where once there was ice, and construction crews where there used to be skaters. If work continues on schedule, Sports Basement will open on Nov. 1 […]
Posted inBusiness
Sports Basement to take over historic Berkeley ice rink
Five years after closure, Berkeley Iceland is derelict and graffittied. Photo: Sports Basement Mayor Tom Bates fell on his butt there. Susan Wengraf and Gordon Wozniak fondly recalled children’s parties there. There was a wave of nostalgia for Berkeley Iceland at last night’s City Council meeting, from both council members and residents providing public comment. […]
Posted inOpinion
Berkeley Iceland is more than a building: it’s a sanctuary
Tuesday will be a big day for the city of Berkeley and especially for a little neighborhood in south Berkeley. Tuesday at 7pm the Berkeley City Council will hold a hearing on whether to allow Berkeley Iceland’s use permit to be changed from recreational to retail in order to usher in the city’s first big-box […]
Posted inOpinion
Berkeley Iceland must be maintained, whatever its fate
Berkeley Iceland has been closed for over five years. For the majority of this time, the current owners, East Bay Iceland — EBI, Richard Zamboni, President — has allowed their historic property to be defaced, trash to collect on and around the building, and landscaping to become a receptacle of garbage. Complaints are ignored and […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing & Development
Discount sports store to take over Berkeley Iceland
Sports Basement, a discount sports store with four branches in the Bay Area, is taking over Berkeley Iceland, according to informed sources. The retail store plans to cover the ice rink and set up displays of athletic shoes, skis, bikes, camping gear and other equipment. Sports Basement chose the location because it is opposite some […]
Posted inCity, Nature
On the agenda: Berkeley City matters
Decisions, decisions. Highlights from the agenda for tonight’s City Council meeting: Whether to restrict official travel to Arizona and cancel contracts with businesses there in reaction to that state’s recently passed law allowing police to question and detain people they think are in the U.S. illegally. Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco have already have passed measures aimed […]
