It’s not a sentence some people were ever expecting to read, but the Ice in Paradise project has started construction in Goleta, and the ice rink is expected to open next year.
The Greater Santa Barbara Ice Skating Association has been fundraising for years, and its board members are ecstatic to finally see dirt moving around the empty lot at the corner of Santa Felicia Drive and Storke Road, near Girsh Park and the Camino Real Marketplace.
“We’ve never given up the dream of making the ice rink a reality,” board president Kathy Mintzer said at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
Campaign chairman Jack Norqual joked that he wondered how many of the attendees came just to see if the groundbreaking would actually happen.
Donors have stuck with the organization for years, and without them, and the community support of the project, it never could have happened, he said.
Philadelphia Flyers NHL owner Ed Snider joined the cause after Norqual made a 20-minute pitch in person.
Snider, a part-time Santa Barbara resident, really inspired the group by giving a big gift early, Norqual said.
It’s always been the GSBISA’s goal to make ice skating and related sports available to the Goleta and Santa Barbara area, which it finally can, he said.
The City of Goleta contributed to the project in the form of development-fee waivers and a $250,000 commitment to help buy equipment.
Mayor Michael Bennett gave some credit to passionate local students, including UCSB’s club hockey and skating programs, who commute down to Oxnard for access to an ice rink.
They made good arguments for the city to support this project, he said.
Many families with children came to the groundbreaking, excited to see where the new rink would be.
For some, the bulldozers signal the end to a long commute south.
Alma Peppard’s twins, Audrie and Dennis, head down to Oxnard three times a week for figure skating. The two are ice dancing partners, and Dennis has started playing hockey as well, she said.
They’ve been making the drive for more than five years, and are excited to have a local rink opening up, Peppard said.
The 46,500-square-foot building is designed to include a NHL-sized rink (200 feet by 85 feet) and a smaller studio rink. It will have an after-school homework center, skating lessons, public skating, and programs for figure skaters, hockey players, ice sports and adaptive ice sports for mobility-impaired athletes.
The association has raised about $7 million in pledges and donations, and secured a construction loan to let work start now.
The capital cost is estimated at around $11 million, so the organization is still fundraising.
The organization just launched a community campaign and buy-a-brick campaign.
— Noozhawk news editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.