Chicago Park District

Summer 2008

McFetridge Sports Center (a.k.a. California Park)

Program Registration Dates:Online registration is not available for the following programs. Please note the dates for in-person registration.

Figure Skating:

2008 Summer Session: Six (6) week session: June 23 – August 1, 2008

Registration, Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Tennis Lessons:

2008 Summer Session: Six (6) week session: June 23 – August 1, 2008

Registration: Monday, June 2, 2008, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm (All Youth lessons & Adult levels 1 & 2)

Registration: Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm (Adult levels 3, 4, 5 & workshops)

Housing the Chicago Park District's only indoor ice rink and indoor tennis courts, McFetridge Sports Center (MSC) offers a unique sports experience for athletes of all ages and skill levels. Full of activity 18 hours a day, seven days a week, MSC welcomes more than 2,000 patrons each week for its year-round competitive and recreational ice skating, hockey and tennis programs, as well as special events. MSC is located on California Avenue between Addison Street and Irving Park Road, just west of the Chicago River.

Features at McFetridge Sports Center within California Park include: fitness center overlooking ice rink -The State of Illinois' first wheelchair baseball field -NHL-size ice arena with seating for 1,200 spectators -Six tournament-quality indoor tennis courts -50-yard outdoor pool -Four outdoor tennis courts -Four outdoor basketball standards

Other indoor amenities include a tennis pro shop, ice skating rental, as well as locker rooms and showers. The sports center is fully accessible to people of all physical abilities, and the adjacent parking lot affords ample parking.

Please stop by or call McFetridge Sports Center at 773-478-2609 to get the most up-to-date information about programs and special events.

PUBLIC SKATE

General Public Skating:

Dates: January 9, 2008 – June 22, 2008

No Public Skate sessions January 16, 3:30 – 5:00 pm (North Region Speed Skating Competition)

No Public Skate sessions April 23 – 27 (Ice Show) and June 14 & 15 (School’s Out Competition)

No Public Skate sessions on Fridays (9:15 – 10:45 pm) due to DePaul University Hockey games; January 18 and February 8.

Additional Public Skates on Mondays, 12:00 – 1:30 pm; January 21 (Martin Luther King Birthday), February 18 (President’s Day) and

Tuesday, 12:00 – 1:30 pm February 12 (Lincoln’s Birthday)

Sports Center closed on Friday, July 4.

(Note: Skate rentals are NOT AVAILABLE during the 12 noon skate session).

Tennis Court Time Dates:

Spring & Summer: May 5 – August 3, 2008

Fall & Winter TENNIS COURT FEES Monday - Friday 7 am - 4 pm $16.00/hour Monday - Friday 4 - 10 pm $24.00/hour Monday - Friday 10 pm - Closing $22.00/hour Saturday - Sunday 7 am - 7pm $24.00/hour Saturday - Sunday 7 pm - Closing $22.00/hour McFetridge Sports Center Tennis Membership Cards may be purchased for $10 at the Business Office. Cards expire August 31st each year.

BOOKING PROCEDURES & POLICY o Reservations taken up to 6 days in advance, beginning at 7 am in person or 8 am by phone. o Cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance. o Patrons are responsible for late cancels or no-shows. o Only 1 hour of play during prime time. o Lessons by non-staff pros are prohibited. o Limit of 6 balls allowed on court, unless machine is rented. o The non-resident (of Chicago) fee is double the Chicago resident fee.

California Park, which takes its name from adjacent California Avenue, is one of six parks created by the River Park District. Established in 1917, the district was one of 22 independent park systems consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. Northwest Chicago residents formed the River Park District to provide recreational opportunities along the North Branch of the Chicago River and the North Shore Channel and to prevent commercial encroachments there. Soon after its formation, the park district began to purchase more than 13 acres south of Irving Park Road, between California Avenue and the North Shore Channel. Although land acquisition dragged on until 1931, development began in 1920, when Leesely Brothers prepared a landscape plan. Improvements were confined largely to plantings until 1927, when the River Park District began construction of an outdoor swimming pool that was, for a time, Illinois's largest. An athletic field, baseball diamonds, and playgrounds followed in 1928, as did a small brick fieldhouse designed by Chicago architect Clarence Hatzfeld.

In the 1970s, the Chicago Park District demolished the original fieldhouse and erected a new changing facility in its place. The park district also constructed an impressive new indoor sports complex, the first of its kind for the park district. The structure contains a year-round ice rink for figure skating and hockey, as well as six tennis courts. This facility was officially designated the McFetridge Sports Complex in 1974 for William L. McFetridge, who served as park district president in 1968, and as vice-president for the preceding 22 years.