New Ice Arena Fundraising Continues

After being located in its current location downtown for over 40 years, plans are in motion for a $5.5 million dollar move of the . The facility will remain in town, but will now be located on Thomas B. Landers Road.

Although some may be disappointed to see their beloved rink moved, it’s clear that it was time.

Paul Moore, President of Falmouth Youth Hockey, explained the need for change. “We need to bring it into the twenty-first century. We need an NHL sized surface to compete. We need women’s locker rooms, better concession areas, a better pro shop: things we can’t get out of the site we’re in now. We looked at remodeling, but it just wasn’t cost-effective.”

The new ice arena will boast one full-sized NHL sheet, plus another half-sized sheet that will host clinics and other programs, opening up another stream of income. “We’re going to be doing a lot of programming out of this rink (the sheet and a half) that’s going to help support the whole rink,” said Moore.

Not only will the new location be bigger than the old one [20,000 sq. ft.], it will also be environmentally friendly.

“We think this rink is going to be a model for one of the most energy-efficient rinks in the country,” Moore added. “The entire roof is going to have solar [paneling] on it. We know this is going to be one of he greenest rinks around. It’s going to be state of the art.”

The ice arena’s official web site also states that it will have a waste-heat recovery system that will allow them to use the otherwise wasted heat produced by the refrigeration system for other needs, such as showers and melting snow. By including these new features, Moore believes that “the new Falmouth Ice Arena will use half of the energy of a standard facility of its type."

The new rink would not have been possible without the help of the Steamship Authority. The Steamship Authority’s Palmer Avenue parking lot is located directly next to the current ice arena, a spot the SSA had its eye on for expansion. The SSA had just bought more than 40 acres of land out on Thomas B. Landers to add a new parking lot and knew that the ice arena wanted to relocate but couldn’t find a suitable spot. When contacted by the SSA, the Falmouth Ice Arena saw the opportunity for a deal and took advantage of it.

In what seems to be a win-win deal for both parties involved, the SSA will be able to expand their space at the Palmer Avenue lot while only giving up a small portion of their new land out on Thomas B. Landers to the new ice rink.

This massive undertaking is far from complete, however. The $1.6 million given by the SSA is only a small portion of the total $5.5 million that is needed to build the rink. According to Moore, a little more than $2 million has been raised so far, and they hope to accumulate the rest through donations and fundraisers, including a Memorial Day Weekend concert at the ice arena.

The construction on the new site is expected to begin this August, leading up to the grand opening in June of 2012.

To make a donation, contact Joel Irving at 508-548-7080.