Key Takeaways
- Spectate Group now manages four ice facilities containing nine sheets, with a fifth arena opening in suburban Chicago this fall.
- The 65,000-square-foot Carmel Ice Skadium has operated for more than 50 years and holds two NHL-sized rinks.
- Nicholas Family of Companies is building a two-market ice presence, with a Westfield arena at Grand Park landing in 2028.
- Spectate assumed operations July 14, 2026, the same day an affiliate of Podell Partners purchased the property.
A 50-Year-Old Rink Changes Hands in Indianapolis
Nicholas Family of Companies (NFOC) announced on July 14, 2026 that its in-house sports and recreation division, Spectate Group, has agreed to lease, manage and operate the Carmel Ice Skadium in Carmel, Ind., a northern suburb of Indianapolis. According to the company, Spectate took over operations the same day, following the sale of the property to an affiliate of Podell Partners, a Carmel-based real estate investment and development firm.
The facility at 1040 3rd Ave. SW spans 65,000 square feet and includes two NHL-sized rinks, a snack bar, party rooms and a pro shop, the company said. The arena has served the area for more than 50 years. An existing arcade is being converted into new food and beverage options, which NFOC’s Big Fish Hospitality Group will operate.
Spectate’s scope covers programming, marketing, maintenance, hiring and training, and day-to-day operations, including coordination with the local hockey programs and user groups that fill the ice.
What Ice Rink Facility Management Looks Like at Scale
Carmel is the fourth ice facility under Spectate management. The other three sit in the Chicago market: Rosemont Ice Arena, a 103,000-square-foot twin-sheet building that opened last year with dedicated team spaces and a restaurant and bar; Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills, Ill., a 63,000-square-foot facility with two NHL-regulation rinks that NFOC acquired last year; and the Nicholas Sportsplex in Mount Prospect, Ill., a 17-acre indoor-outdoor complex with three ice sheets, synthetic turf fields, a restaurant, bar and hockey pro shop.
Counting the sheets described in the announcement, that portfolio now totals nine rinks across four buildings. Two more arrive with the Elk Grove Ice Arena, an 86,000-square-foot, two-rink complex NFOC is developing in Elk Grove Village, Ill., which Spectate will manage when it opens in fall 2026. That brings the total to five facilities by year end.
The pattern is worth noting for operators tracking the ice segment: NFOC develops and builds through Nicholas & Associates, operates through Spectate, and runs concessions through Big Fish Hospitality. Carmel is the exception to the pattern, a lease and management deal on someone else’s real estate rather than a ground-up build.
Two Indianapolis-Area Sheets Under One Operator
Carmel is not a standalone move. Spectate is also slated to manage the Westfield Ice Facility, an indoor multi-sheet arena NFOC is developing at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind., set to open in 2028. Both sites sit in Hamilton County, north of Indianapolis.
That gives Spectate a two-facility Indianapolis-market position, with the Carmel takeover arriving roughly two years ahead of the new build.
“Having spent plenty of time at local ice rinks over the years watching my own kids play competitive hockey, I know firsthand how closely tied these facilities are to the community and the groups that use them,” said Nick Papanicholas Jr., managing director and CEO of Nicholas Family of Companies. He said the Spectate team intends to bring its management and programming approach to Carmel while strengthening relationships within the local ice rink and hockey community.
For hockey programs, figure skating clubs and learn-to-skate operators in the market, the practical question is what a new operator does with ice allocation and rate structure at a rink that has been part of the community for five decades. NFOC has not disclosed pricing or scheduling changes.
From One Market to Two, With 2028 Already on the Calendar
NFOC describes itself as a second-generation, family-owned organization headquartered in Mount Prospect, Ill., with additional offices in Indiana, Florida and Wisconsin. The Carmel deal is the first operating asset in its Indiana ice portfolio, and it lands ahead of the larger Westfield build.
The next confirmed milestone is fall 2026, when Elk Grove Ice Arena opens and Spectate’s portfolio reaches five facilities. After that, the clock runs to 2028 at Grand Park, where a multi-sheet arena will give the company a purpose-built anchor in the same market it just entered through a 50-year-old rink.
Source: Nicholas Family of Companies, July 14, 2026, [URL]
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