Photos: Prince William Ice Center in the Final Stretch

Bill and Pat Hutzler purchased the Prince William Ice Center, a 67,000 square foot facility on Dale Boulevard, in 2008 expecting great things. Their son, Brian, played hockey in the facility in the years leading up to their purchase of the ice center and they were part of a close-knit community that enjoyed the ice center and the myriad activities made available to the surrounding communities.

Unfortunately, the winter storms of 2010 had different plans for the Hutzler family. The Prince William Ice Center's roof collapsed on February 6, 2010, destroying the facility. Thankfully, no one was injured. While they experienced a sinking feeling in their hearts, the  was easy. Bill and Pat received much moral support from the surrounding communities and families who had been a part of the ice center's history for years.

The two main features of the new facility are its two skating rinks.  The 100-foot by 200-foot Olympic Rink, suitable for qualifying events for Olympic speed skating trials, was laid with 14 miles of cooling tubes beneath the ice surface. The 85-foot by 200-foot NHL rink was laid with 12 miles of cooling tubes. It's a sight to behold and many people have taken the opportunity to grab a sneak peek while the Hutzler's have offered tours over these preceding months.

Since construction began, the Hutzlers have taken the opportunity to improve the facility by eliminating many of the operational obstacles of the old facility. For example, they have created enough space for an additional 300 pairs of rental skates, thus ensuring enough skates of popular sizes during the busiest public skates. In addition, restrooms have been relocated to ease the congestion that formed around the skate rental area in the old building. A new first aid room has also been added as a single-function room.

Over the next several weeks, workers will put the finishing touches on both rinks and that will allow use of heavy equipment on the rinks in order to hang lighting fixtures and erect the boards and glass surrounding them. Prince William Ice Center is in the final stretch of construction and all its staff are very excited to reopen soon so that members of the community can come back to their stomping grounds.

There is currently no firm date for re-opening, but according to the ice center Facebook page, the reopening is currently expected to be sometime in late September. Patch will keep you updated as the ice center nears completion.