If we build it, they will come. If it can work for baseball diamonds, it can work for hockey rinks.
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from looking across the border at Minnesota. Like how they protect and promote their high school heritage and the importance they place on increasing the availability of ice—whether it be indoor or outdoor. In a movement commensurate with the current scope of hockey in our state, there has been a small-scale, but encouraging ice arena resurgence.
With brand new facilities in Janesville-The Woodman’s Sports & Convention Center, Legacy20 Arena in DeForest and the 3,000 seat Donald and Patricia Schneider Family Arena being added at Cornerstone in De Pere, it is an exciting trend that we can only hope will continue. Valley Sports Academy in Eau Claire, opened in 2022, has a mini-rink and there have been on-going rumors of a new arena being built at their current site. Verona added a second sheet in 2023, and it is now home to Madison Edgewood and the Metro Lynx. In 2019 the beautiful Champions Center opened in Appleton.
These high-profile arenas will potentially make Wisconsin an even more popular destination for national tournaments and events. The Legacy20-DeForest and Schneider Family Arena in De Pere, both with seating capacities around 3,000, will likely put them on the radar to host the WIAA State Tournament.
The growth of hockey and most importantly to WIAA hockey, the splitting of large co-ops is heavily dependent upon building new facilities or adding ice sheets to existing buildings. As hockey grows across the state, so does ice demand, and it can be one of the major roadblocks to co-ops being able to separate. In many places the demand for ice has surpassed the availability.
As these multi-million-dollar facilities grab our attention, there are many smaller projects taking place in the shadows across the state. Those pivotal renovations are essential in keeping our existing rinks up to date and viable. Somerset is currently raising funds for rink improvements and have their eyes on adding another sheet of ice in the near future. In Wausau the county pumped $750,000 into aging Marathon Park and is considering options, one that could possibly put up a new two-sheet building estimated to cost $54 million. New Richmond is also fundraising to remodel their existing rink and add a second sheet of ice. Baldwin/Woodville put in a new cooling system last year. And at Cornerstone, once the arena is complete, work will begin on the scoreboards and flooring of the original two rinks. Down the road, the De Pere Ice Arena will begin upgrading some of the mechanical systems and flooring before their final phase of planning on how to fund, floor replacement, and some handicap accessibility issues that could run between two and four million dollars. Up north, one of the state’s oldest facilities, the historic Dome in Eagle River has recently dropped the puck on a $1.2 million fund raiser to replace the ice plants that services both rinks.
Appleton/Neenah-Funding the Future
In Appleton, Funding the Future Campaign is well underway as Appleton Ice Inc is working to raise the funds to improve both of their current facilities; The Appleton Family Ice Center and Tri-County Ice Arena in Neenah. Phase One of their plan has been completed and in October, $1 million was invested to complete a comprehensive ice-surface reconstruction at Appleton Family Ice Center.
Next up is Phase Two, where $2.2 million will be used to reconstruct Tri-County’s large and small rinks and install new insulation. If you have ever been to Tri-County Arena in Neenah, it is a venue you won’t forget. Built in 1974, the arena is better known as the “rink with a fireplace”. Fund the Future chairman, Tommy Wroblewski, promised me that the fireplace will stay. “The fireplace is not getting touched,” Wroblewski assured. “We want to keep the history and nostalgia intact and at the same time modernize the hockey arena.”
The arena went through some upgrading in 2014 but has pressing issues that need attention. “They don’t build things like they used to.” said Wroblewski. "And it is in great shape structurally, but inside the arena floor and the ice making equipment are reaching their lifespan.”
According to Wroblewski the welfare of both the Appleton and Neenah arenas has been in the capable hands of Dan Evans for many years. “Dan’s the guy when something breaks or anything goes wrong, Dan Evans is the guy who's all over the place and frankly neither one of the rinks could possibly operate without him.” But time has taken its toll on both rinks and the improvements needed can’t be pushed down the road any further.
The Funding the Future Campaign has generated nearly $1.9 million after about a year of fund raising. But the $4.1 million goal at the top of the thermometer has yet to be reached.
With the Appleton and Fox Valley area’s youth hockey numbers continuing to grow, keeping these existing rinks running is vital. “These are grass roots facilities,” Wroblewski noted. “We are seeing significant sustainable numbers on both our boys and girl’s programs, and we need to reinvest in these legacy institutions—places that have a ton of history and have been part of Wisconsin hockey communities for decades.”
Appleton Ice, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and all donations to the campaign are tax-deductible. Community members, local businesses, friends, and alumni of the rink’s programs are all invited to be part of this exciting chapter in Wisconsin hockey.
To learn more about the Funding the Future campaign or to make a contribution, visit www.appletonice.org/fundingthefuture
