After 30 years of service, the East Bethel Ice Arena is showing its age. Parents and the youth hockey association have a list of areas they say needs attention.
“I think we overall just need some revamping of the arena,” said St. Francis Hockey board member Alex Goodwin. “It’s definitely showing its age over the years. There are some areas that could use some TLC, such as this lobby could use some freshening up.”
Goodwin would like to see improvements in how teams and their trophies are showcased. Inside, parents say the bleachers could use a cleaning, and they hope for updates to the rest rooms and locker rooms. Some of the updates are simple. Others, like a possible new scoreboard, may take more work and money.
East Bethel Mayor Steven Voss says the city is listening to the concerns.
“I think the desire will be to bring everybody together and collectively hear the comments and hear the concerns and then we can talk about how we can make some of the things happen.”
Voss says there’s nothing on the list that’s insurmountable.
“Part of the experience here is not just the players, it’s the parents and the spectators. One of the concerns we heard right away was the status of the rest rooms. The fact that there’s not as many and there’s less heat and hot water and things like that. So we’re already looking at making those structural changes,” said Voss.
The rink is home ice for about 170 youth hockey players from East Bethel, St. Francis, North Branch, and Isanti. Keeping it in great shape is important to those with a personal connection.
“A lot of the community, a few that I know personally, put a second mortgage on their homes to get this place built, my father-in law being one of them,” said Caitlin Allen, a hockey parent. “I want to try and keep it going and show them that our community is still willing to upkeep this place.
Even though it’s now city-owned, parents are jumping in to help raise some of the money needed for updates with a weekend adult hockey tournament called, “In the Sticks Hockey and Cornhole Tournament.” It features 8 adult hockey matches March 11th through the 13th, and a cornhole tournament.
“There are many different ways to participate. You don’t have to be a hockey player to come up and enjoy the tournament that weekend,” said Goodwin.
Organizers are donating their time and the city is extending the ice season for free with all proceeds going toward improvements.
“I would be hopeful that we could make at least $10,000, that’s on the low end,” said Goodwin. “I would love to see it go up higher than that.”
Mayor Voss hopes to see more efforts like this.
“They really want to take a step forward before the city can even do anything, so I think that’s tremendous.”
Caitlin Allen says it’s like a second home for some hockey families every season.
“We’re in a very rural area, we co-op with other rural areas. They all come together here to this place. This is their home rink,” said Allen.
The puck drops on the “In the Sticks” fundraising tournament on Friday March 11 and runs through the weekend. For more information about getting involved go to their website.
