Executive Director Rob Hall has been at the arena for more than half its history.
“It’s been quite a journey for myself since getting here in 2000,” said Hall. “Right away in 2001 we expanded it with the north rink to meet the hockey needs and then in 2012 we started the curling venture and then the restaurant came on right after that.”
The facility now has a multi-million dollar annual budget, but it was built with donations and volunteers.
“From the stories that I have been told over the years it was a total community effort. Everybody rallied around the idea of having a hockey rink in Blaine,” said Hall.
What’s now called the South Rink open on October 25, 1982.
“It’s not uncommon when we have to break into a wall to occasionally find a bunch of insulation and odds and ends – and a beer can or two three or four, – but you can tell that it was built by the common man and it’s just something that would will never ever happen again,” said Hall.
As the facility grew, so did its reach. In 2015 it was named the United States Olympic Training Center for Curling and later it hosted Olympic curling trials.
A number of famous hockey players began their careers at Fogerty in youth hockey.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have six NHL players come through the ranks of Blaine and Spring Lake Park.”
In 2020, at the beginning of the COVID shutdown, things were rough at the arena. Money wasn’t coming in, so Fogerty asked for donations, just to be able to stay in business.
“COVID was a very cruel and but very kind thing for us,” said Hall. “We were on the brink of having to shut our doors, we were getting down to the end of our funds.”
“The donations came through and secured us to be able to open back up when we could and then after that the PPP money came in and we got some grants and everything has just kind of happened at the right time for us and we’re secure and things couldn’t be going better for us right now,” said Hall “We’re not planning to go anywhere.”
Fogerty Arena will be celebrating its forty years on October 8. From 4 to 8 P-M at Moe’s Ice House there will be free music and refreshments, paired with conversation and stories about the history of the arena.
