The future of D.C.’s only full-size ice rink was suddenly thrown into doubt this week as the non-profit that runs it accused the city of mismanaging plans for building a new facility, saying it would be “getting half the project for twice the cost.”

But D.C. says the struggles with building a new ice rink on time and to a specific budget have more prosaic origins: the pandemic’s impact on all types of construction projects.

The turmoil exploded into public view on Wednesday evening, when the Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena (FDIA) — which runs the 46-year-old public facility in Ward 7 and the many programs it offers — declared in a pointed public statement that it would not close after this weekend for a planned demolition and reconstruction because of questions over whether “a new rink will ever be built once the current one is demolished.”

Planning for a new expanded facility has been happening in fits and starts since at least 2013, and it was three years ago that supporters of the ice arena fought Mayor Muriel Bowser for funding for the project — and won. But the Friends of Fort Dupont board said that since then it has largely been shut out of any planning for a new facility, including D.C.’s mid-2021 decision that it would only build an arena with a single rink — not the two rinks that had initially been hoped for. (City officials say the decision was motivated by cost considerations.)

In its public statement this week, FDIA said that D.C.’s budget estimate of $37.5 million for that single new rink is far above the $15 million some say it would take to build a two-rink facility. City officials say that that estimate of building costs is over a decade old, and that the project was always expected to cost roughly $30 million — until the more recent cost increases brought on by the pandemic.

The group’s board also said that the new budget — which members were only shown last week — would require another $6 million in fundraising, on top of $1.3 million the board had already raised for the project. It also raised concerns with the 27-month timeline for construction, more than the 12-18 months that was initially expected.

“It was just the final straw,” says board member and Ward 7 parent Tomeka N. Gueory, describing the board’s decision to write the letter, cancel this weekend’s planned closing celebrations, and declare that D.C. was breaking the terms of a 2019 memorandum of understanding outlining the plans for funding and building a new facility.

“Parents and kids were excited because we were going to finally, after all these years, get a new rink. The overall fear is that if we do allow the city to demolish the building that there’s a possibility that there won’t be a new one built. That’s a major concern because at the end of the day, we just we just want a facility with two sheets of ice. We want to serve the kids that the same communities that we’ve been serving all of these years,” she adds.

In a letter to Bowser, board members accused D.C. of having a “spotty” commitment to the ice arena and its programs. “We continue to be mystified that the city doesn’t believe in this project,” they wrote.

Murry Gunty, the board chairman and owner of a private company that manages 27 rinks across the country, tweeted that the apparent rift between D.C. and the ice arena’s operators was “devastating news.” In a tweet, he added: “We will keep fighting for the kids in wards 7 and 8 but we are going to need a lot of help.”

City officials say they were surprised to see the board’s statement, and that many of the cost increases the project have experienced have been out of their control. In a statement, the Department of General Services — the city agency that manages planning and construction — said that just like with any other project, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased prices for materials and stretched out timelines due to supply-chain issues.

“The Department of General Services is committed to developing a new ice arena in Ward 7 that residents will be able to enjoy,” the agency said. “Vendors that come in at a higher price for construction projects is a normal part of the process in real estate development, and it is up to our Capital Construction Services team to negotiate these costs down. DGS made it clear to the Friends of the Fort Dupont Ice Arena as far back as 2020 that the budget allowed for one rink at the arena rather than two rinks in the project scope.”

It remains unclear whether the current dispute will further delay plans for the new facility. City officials say they initially planned to start demolition on the existing arena in late March, and that expectation could still be met if a resolution is reached in the coming weeks.

Gueory hopes a path forward can be found.

“I have kids that have gone through the program,” she says. “Every year we see more and more families come through the doors. With a bigger facility or a facility with two sheets of ice, we can actually provide better, more programing. I just I want it to happen.”