Marblehead’s Select Board recently voted to accept an $800,000 settlement from the Larz Anderson Trust Fund, marking the final major distribution from a gift that has sparked years of discussion about winter sports facilities in town. The funds come from the sale of the last piece of real estate owned by the trust in Florida.
The settlement will bring the trust’s total principal balance to just over $3 million, Marblehead Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin told the Marblehead Current.
“Per the treasurer collector, the Sept. 30, 2024, statement shows an ending earnings balance of $174,822.45 and an ending principal balance of $2,218,431.10,” Benjamin said. “Once the $800,000 settlement comes in, this would bring the principal balance to $3,018,431.10.”
The story of the trust begins in 2016, when the late Marblehead resident Larz J. Anderson left an initial $2 million to benefit winter sports in Marblehead. Anderson, who passed away in 2003 at age 89, had accumulated his wealth as a municipal bonds investor and operated a hockey rink in Worcester for many years.
“The primary purpose of the trust fund is for sports and athletics,” Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer said.
Since the initial bequest, the town has grappled with how to best utilize these funds. In 2021, a feasibility study conducted by MacLaughlin Management & Design examined two potential options: an indoor ice rink operating year-round at an estimated cost of $7.69 million, or an outdoor rink with a roof operating four months per year at $2.19 million.
The Recreation & Parks Commission has been actively working to develop a practical solution that honors Anderson’s intentions while staying within the available funding. Commissioner Shelly Bedrossian, who was elected in 2023, has been deeply involved in exploring various options.
“After spending my first term researching this option, I determined that a full-size rink (200 feet by 85 feet) cannot be built in Marblehead as we just don’t have the space,” Bedrossian said. “The only viable option for space would be at Eveleth, which is obviously on school property and is in a very thickly settled neighborhood.”
The commission is now focusing on a more modest but potentially more achievable plan centered on the existing Green Street Rink.
“The current rink is 85% of regulation game size but could serve as a perfect practice sheet if done correctly,” Bedrossian said. “The USA Hockey Development Model mandates that youth hockey practice on a ½ sheet of ice and focus on small area skills. This develops better stick handling, hockey IQ and passing skills.”
The latest proposal involves creating a multi-sport facility that would serve the community year-round.
“I obtained budget quotes on each line item of the project which included a refrigerated ice surface on the current footprint, new boards and dashers, and new bathrooms,” Bedrossian said. “The multi-sport facility would have ice down for 20 weeks a year and modular turf for the remaining weeks so youth soccer and lax could have a weather-independent practice area.”
The Select Board’s role in this process is primarily fiduciary.
“There has to be a consensus on the use of the funds that’s compliant with the requirements of the trust fund in order for the treasurer’s office to release the funds for those purposes. We’re just the stewards of the money,” Kezer said.
The working group is currently exploring additional opportunities that have emerged during the planning process.
Marblehead Youth Hockey spends approximately $200,000 annually on ice rentals at five North Shore area rinks and between $80,000 to $90,000 to the Valley Hockey League for league participation and games. The Marblehead School Department spends an additional $40,000 per year at out-of-town rinks for high school and middle school hockey teams.
“A full size $10 million rink that can be used for games would be the ideal option for the hockey community, but reality needs to set in on what can be done for $3 million and no land,” Bedrossian said.
