{"id":3011,"date":"2026-03-19T22:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/park-city-ice-miners-undergoes-corporate-restructuring-after-financial-lawsuit-park-record\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T22:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T22:12:15","slug":"park-city-ice-miners-undergoes-corporate-restructuring-after-financial-lawsuit-park-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/park-city-ice-miners-undergoes-corporate-restructuring-after-financial-lawsuit-park-record\/","title":{"rendered":"Park City Ice Miners undergoes corporate restructuring after financial lawsuit – Park Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Park Record<\/a>
\t\t\t\t\tPark City and Wasatch Back News\t\t\t\t
Park City Ice Miners, a prominent Wasatch Back youth hockey league, is undergoing a corporate restructuring to shift from a membership organization to a self-selected board of directors, removing parents\u2019 and stakeholders\u2019 ability to obtain leadership positions to govern the nonprofit\u2019s future.
The move follows a lawsuit filed in Summit County\u2019s Third District Court last year, which accuses the organization of violating financial reporting laws<\/a>.
The current board of directors sent a letter to the Park City Ice Miners community last month informing them of the change. The letter portrayed the decision as necessary to \u201cprotect\u201d the program from \u201cfuture disruptions,\u201d referring to ongoing conflicts and division as a result of the lawsuit.
As a membership organization, Park City Ice Miners families participate in programming, and anyone who donates the $1 membership fee has a vested interest in the organization\u2019s future. The structure also allows members to run for positions on the board of directors, which has seven seats.
With the corporate restructuring, though, the hockey organization is set to transition to a \u201cnon-membership structure.\u201d 
The board of directors adopted the change and merged into a new nonprofit, dubbed Newco, in a 5-2 vote. Board members Laurel Durham and Vanessa Krejci, who have previously expressed concerns about Park City Ice Miners\u2019 finances, opposed the merger.
Krejci stepped down from the board as a result of the vote, according to the letter. The other six board members retained their positions.
\u201cThis change will put PCIM in line with other youth sports organizations in Utah that do not have formal membership but rather are governed by an autonomous, self-perpetuating board of directors,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe board will continue to solicit input and feedback from our community regarding its hockey operations, but participants will not have a vote in governance matters of the organization, including in the election of the members of the board of directors.\u201d
Park City Ice Miners\u2019 bylaws said the nonprofit needed to hold leadership elections by the end of March. The letter announcing the change and merger with Newco was sent to families on the last day of February.
Newco is a new organization created specifically to merge with the existing Park City Ice Miners nonprofit. It did not exist before the merger but was established to transfer the hockey organization\u2019s assets to a corporation with a non-membership structure and different bylaws.
Four of the five directors who voted for the merger had terms expiring at the end of the month. Changing into a non-membership structure will allow them to retain their positions indefinitely. 
Board member Vince Macri in an interview with The Park Record said he feels like people have lost sight of the organization\u2019s purpose, which is to provide an outlet for kids interested in hockey. He said the merger is intended to rein in the controversy surrounding the nonprofit to stabilize its operations and that the move was recommended by the board\u2019s legal counsel.
\u201cIt\u2019s really being done to enhance the hockey program,\u201d Macri said. \u201cThe board has been put in a position where it\u2019s unable to or hindered in its ability to carry out normal hockey operations because it’s constantly having to fight these public or private battles. \u2026 It was a way to protect the organization, update our bylaws and preserve the hockey operations all in one.\u201d
Ben Arnold, a parent of Park City Ice Miners players, filed a lawsuit accusing the hockey nonprofit of financial mismanagement last year. The lawsuit claimed the board of directors was not being transparent regarding its budget and operations, and Arnold also questioned payments for the organization that were sent directly to Board President Matthew Prucka\u2019s private Venmo account.
Arnold and his supporters previously shared statements indicating they hoped the board elections in March would bring in new leadership to assess the group\u2019s finances. But the change to a non-membership organization removes the ability for parents to run for board positions, and Arnold\u2019s supporters are now expressing concerns about the decision to merge with Newco without input from the broader Park City Ice Miners community.
Macri said the narrative that members should have the sway to influence or change board decisions showed a misunderstanding of the membership structure, which is solely intended to give parents a vote in the annual board elections. That\u2019s also why members were not informed of the potential merger before February\u2019s board meeting.
\u201cWe knew that it wasn\u2019t something that the members had a right to vote on,\u201d Macri said. \u201cPer our bylaws, and this has all gone through legal counsel, this is not something that the members get included on. Members have a pretty limited set of rights, especially when it comes to voting. \u2026 This was a normal governance action of the board that didn\u2019t require member approval.\u201d
Macri said the board\u2019s concern was that members were starting to \u201cweaponize\u201d their membership, a sentiment shared in the announcement letter sent to the Park City Ice Miners community.
\u201cWhile PCIM has historically operated a successful hockey program under its current structure, it is clear from recent events that an organization with this structure is susceptible to disruption by actors who are willing to weaponize membership rights in order to damage the organization,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe majority of the board considers this a significant vulnerability of the organization.\u201d
The document additionally blamed Arnold, who filed the initial lawsuit, and the Krejci family for using the legal system to \u201cattack\u201d the organization and causing \u201cextreme disruption\u201d to its operations. It also decried Arnold\u2019s decision to approach local media outlets with information on the lawsuit and his concerns regarding the nonprofit\u2019s finances.
The letter claimed there are ongoing investigations into the Park City Ice Miners organization because Arnold reported the group to USA Hockey, the Utah Amateur Hockey Association and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
\u201cThe board considers it an act of bad faith to file complaints with regulators, who have a legal duty to follow up (on) such complaints, in order to have investigations launched and then claim that the existence of those investigations implies the guilt of PCIM,\u201d the letter said.
The board concluded by saying they are \u201clooking forward to this new chapter of the organization\u201d and that they are confident the merger will \u201cpreserve PCIM and ensure continuity of our hockey program.\u201d
Jim Krejci, the husband of former board member Vanessa, in an email to the Park City Ice Miners community, likened the corporate reorganization to a \u201cshell company\u201d shortly after the announcement was made.
\u201c(The board) granted each other two-year terms as Newco directors \u2014 including those whose PCIM terms are set to expire in the coming days\/weeks,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThey also voted to transfer all PCIM assets (including about $290,000 in cash) into their Newco control, leaving PCIM empty.\u201d
He called the reorganization a \u201cclassic entrenchment play,\u201d alleging that the board of directors greenlit the merger to prevent an election this month as an effort to retain control over the organization and its finances.
Specifically, Jim claimed the merger was hidden from Durham and his wife until the last minute before it was \u201cjammed through \u2026 at a closed board meeting.\u201d He said both board members objected to the action and encouraged the board to discuss the merger with members before taking a final vote.
But board member Darren Lees said Durham and Vanessa were given the information two days before the meeting, just like the other board members.
\u201cIn terms of who was involved in the lead up to this, I would say a lot of that was driven by our counsel, and not every board member is always involved,\u201d he said. \u201cVanessa and Laurel are suggesting that they were not involved, but I don\u2019t think all of the board members were involved along the way in terms of understanding what it was. It\u2019s very normal for different individuals to be working on different things.\u201d
Lees also said it wasn\u2019t accurate to portray the board as uncommunicative with parents because the announcement letter was sent shortly after the decision was made.
\u201cWe were very open and transparent with the membership,\u201d he said. \u201cThe letter described in detail what we were doing, the impact that would have on the membership and the organization.\u201d
Most of the feedback the board has received on the change has been positive, according to Lees.
\u201cWe will always have members that don\u2019t support it, but the difficult decision that we had as a board was to do what\u2019s right for the organization, knowing that there would be some who are detractors,\u201d he said.
However, some parents have started to express concerns to Park City Ice Miners leadership, including submitting complaints to the Utah Amateur Hockey Association.
Jason Hull, an attorney with a specialization in business and commercial litigation, sent a letter to the association on March 9 on behalf of Park City Ice Miners\u2019 parents. The letter specifically said the parents were worried about the nonprofit\u2019s affiliate agreement with the Utah Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey.
Hull said the board of directors does not have the legal authority to transfer the affiliate agreement to Newco and that Newco would need to apply for its own agreement, which can be a multi-year process.
\u201cTherefore, (the directors) presupposing that they can just transfer the UAHA affiliate agreement to Newco puts at risk the ability of all of PCIM\u2019s players to continue to play the sport they love,\u201d Hull wrote.
Without the Utah Amateur Hockey Association affiliation, the Wasatch Back organization could not play against other certified teams or participate in tournaments. But Macri claimed the affiliation agreement is transferable and that it is a routine \u201cadministrative update\u201d for the Utah Amateur Hockey Association.
\u201cWe\u2019ve been advised that is not an issue at all,\u201d Macri said.
Lees said the board has also been working closely with the Utah Amateur Hockey Association and its legal counsel regarding the merger, so the association is already aware of the change and collaborating with local leadership.
The Park Record has reached out to the Utah Amateur Hockey Association for clarification on the affiliate agreement but had not heard back as of Thursday.
Hull\u2019s letter also touched on other concerns, though, including the nonprofit\u2019s status with the Internal Revenue Service. He said Park City Ice Miners is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization, but Newco has not obtained the same classification. However, the Newco directors still authorized a transfer of $290,000 of the nonprofit’s assets to the new company \u201cthat has no IRS qualification.\u201d
Hull pointed out the merger is happening while the organization is \u201cunder investigation by the state of Utah\u201d because of the financial allegations. He said it was \u201cextremely concerning\u201d that the board accused of mismanagement is \u201cattempting to eliminate the existence of PCIM.\u201d
The attorney’s letter also drew a connection between the timing of the merger and the March elections, saying it was an \u201cunmistakable\u201d and \u201cblatant attempt to avoid the voice of PCIM\u2019s members.\u201d
\u201cGiven all the issues and risks, there is no legitimate reason for the (directors) to take the abrupt Newco action that they did in the hidden manner with which they did it,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThis course is replete with legal risks and likely violates state and federal statute, regulations and proper practice.\u201d
Macri emphasized that everyone on the board of directors is a volunteer and the benefit of retaining a leadership position is to help the organization serve kids.
Hull requested the Utah Amateur Hockey Association \u201cdiscourage\u201d the directors from transferring Park City Ice Miners\u2019 assets until Newco obtains a nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service.
A group of parents also sent a similar letter to the board of directors, decrying the decision to transition to a non-membership structure without prior notice to members.
Their letter referred to Park City Ice Miners\u2019 governing documents and bylaws, which outline the membership structure and need for board elections, and said removing members\u2019 voting rights represented a fundamental change to the organization.
They asked the board to pause any further actions related to the merger, including transferring assets, and to schedule a meeting to address the issue with members, \u201cincluding clarification of the authority relied upon for the board\u2019s action and the role of membership in approving such a change.\u201d
However, Macri and Lees indicated the merger with Newco is imminent, and a meeting with members about the change has not been scheduled.
\u201cThis is a youth sports organization that is focused on kids playing hockey,\u201d Lees said. \u201cMost of the members of this board have kids who are in the program actively and are very focused on making it the best experience that it possibly can be. When you step back from the back-and-forth, that\u2019s the mission of the organization. That\u2019s the purpose of this board.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Winter 2025\/26<\/a>
The Park Record newspaper publishes twice weekly in Park City, Utah, and has been serving the Wasatch Back since 1880.
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