Truckee Community Ice Pavilion Project receives $100K from duo of districts
Rink Uses
1. Ice Skating
2. Hockey & Tournaments
3. Figure Skating
4. Curling Leagues (like Bocce today in Truckee)
5. EVENTS – TTBID, Town of Truckee, and/or Chamber Events
6. Broom Ball
7. Speed Skating
8. Roller Derby
9. Lacrosse (multi court surface for much of the following)
10. Indoor Baseball & Tryouts
11. Indoor Soccer with side boards
12. Pee Wee Football
13. Dance
14. Cheer
15. Community gathering space (parties, weddings, graduations, etc)
16. Made in Truckee Art Events
17. Music Festivals
18. Volleyball
19. Track/Field
20. Parties for the awesome hard working members of TDRPD, TTIRP & TBID
21. Pickleball
22. Bocce
23. Kermes
24. Beer Fest/Wine Fest/Whiskey Fest
25. Movie Night
26. Ski/Snowboard Movie premiers
27. Additional Rodeo Space
28. Skate Board Competitions (Portable Ramps)
29. Corporate gatherings/Picnics
30. Roller Hockey
31. Roller Disco
32. Covered Tennis
33. Badminton
34. Rugby ( Small Field)
35. Dog Shows
36. Summer Theater
37. Car Shows
38. Flea Markets
39. Farmers Markets
40. School Outings/Special Field Days
41. Covered picnic tables open to anyone
42. Truckee Day Party
43. Claw Thaw
44. Power Skating
45. Sport Competitions – not otherwise mentioned
46. Kids summer camps
A dream of bringing a covered ice rink to Truckee took a step closer to reality after the Truckee Community Ice Pavilion Project received $50,000 from the Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District and another $50,000 from the Truckee Tourism Business Improvement District.
The partnership between the park district and the business improvement district marks the first time the two have worked together, according to Jenny Fellows, of Truckee Community Ice Pavilion Project, and helps move forward plans that have been roughly 20 years in the making.
“Building a facility for us, where we can do some fun things and bring our history back to life is really compelling,” said the project’s Kevin Murphy.
It’s been more than 100 years since Truckee had a covered ice skating rink, according to Murphy, after the town’s Ice Palace near where Cottonwood Restaurant is today, burned down in 1916.
“It was a way of getting tourists up from San Francisco,” said Murphy. “It was a tourist attraction, people would jump on trains to come up to Truckee.”
The construction of a new covered rink touches many historical aspects in the region, from the town’s early desire to attract residents of the Bay Area by building the Ice Palace to legendary performances on the ice by the U.S. hockey team and figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw.
Plans are for the existing rink on Old Brockway Road to be replaced by a 200 feet by 85 feet regulation size rink, which will include the installation of dasher boards and glass, and eventually a solar panel covered roof.
Project developers cited 46 different uses for the covered rink, which will be used year-round, varying from ice skating, hockey and curling, to indoor soccer, roller disco, concerts and farmers markets.
“Kids here need a winter alternative to skiing, especially if they can’t afford to go often,” said Fellows. “It can be a really cool new winter activity option for Truckee.
“Kids and adults need that as an additional activity and for the other six months of the year we can use the facility.”
The rink will be ice from Nov. 1 to April 1, and will be available for a wide variety of uses the rest of the year.
Over the past few years, youth hockey has been one of the most popular sports in the area, according to Fellows, with the Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District’s youth league’s consistently maxing out on registrations.
“South Lake Tahoe has a packed youth club hockey program and we could absolutely have that over here,” said Fellows.
The project’s developers envision youth leagues through the high school level, and possibly the addition of a Sierra College hockey club. Murphy said he’s met with the NCAA and representatives from Sierra College about the possibility of a team, which would bring in club squads from Stanford University, California State University, Sacramento, and others.
The project is broken down into two phases, and will begin with the construction of a new 200-foot by 85-foot rink, according to information from Truckee Community Ice Pavilion Project. A new chiller and Zamboni are also to be purchased. There are also plans to include an outdoor area to the north of the rink.
The project’s second phase involves constructing a roof, which would be covered with solar panels. The sides of the rink will be left open.
“The location is ideal, close to town, the Railyard Project, the river, Regional Park, and the potential site of the new library,” said Fellows in an email to the Sun. “We have a larger space to work with now, and we get closer to the river.”
Ideally, Murphy said the project should be able to break ground in roughly two years.
“It’s impressive and inspiring to be part of a group of individuals trying to get this done,” said Fellows. “The Truckee Community Ice Pavilion Project committee welcomes all those interested in this great effort.”
For more information visit TruckeeTahoeIceRink.com.
Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com.
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