THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 24, 1997 TAG: 9701240528
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG BEIZER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 82 lines
Patrick Cavanagh's professional hockey career began in Hampton Roads in 1989 when he played for the Admirals during the team's inaugural season. After two years here, Cavanagh went on to play for teams from New York City to San Diego.
And whether he was playing in Erie, Pa., or Tampa Bay, Fla., he often was surprised to find that regions not known for hockey and less populated than Hampton Roads had vastly better ice rink facilities.
So when Cavanagh stopped playing professional hockey in 1995 he decided to remain in his off-season home of Virginia Beach and correct that situation.
Cavanagh founded and serves as executive director of Chilled Ponds, a business group that plans to build a $4.5 million double ice rink in Hampton Roads.
``We feel very secure that we have a piece of land at this time that we are going to be able to announce as soon as February,'' Cavanagh said.
Cavanagh said he can't reveal the location until the deal is final. He added that the 80,000-square-foot project would require a minimum of 6.5 acres of land and that his group plans to build it on the Southside. Construction should take six months.
Cavanagh isn't the only one to recognize the demand. Former Richmond Renegades hockey team owner Allan B. Harvie Jr. has operated a temporary ice rink on the Oceanfront for one year, and he opened a permanent facility in Yorktown in August. Harvie also has announced plans to build a rink in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake.
The only permanent ice rink now operating in South Hampton Roads is Iceland in the Pembroke area of Virginia Beach. The former roller skating rink was converted to ice 15 years ago by a group of hockey-enthusiast parents, said Mary Hutchinson, the rink's general manager. Most of those parents were founders of the Hampton Roads Youth Hockey Association, formed in 1973 to find a facility for their children.
Since then, Iceland has been so popular that it is normally booked from 5 a.m. until midnight Monday through Thursday and for even longer hours on weekends.
Cavanagh, who coaches youth hockey at Iceland, said the sport has become so popular there that they used to have a two-year waiting list. Since then, coordinators of the Youth Hockey Association have re-organized the league into various skill levels to alleviate that problem and accommodate new players.
But hockey isn't the only ice-skating segment growing at Iceland.
``Our skating school grows every year,'' Hutchinson said. ``I'm proud to say when I first got here (10 years ago) there were maybe 80 people in the skating school and this winter we'll probably top 500.''
Cavanagh said the demand is strong enough to support more than one facility.
Harvie will permanently close his Starship Ice operation March 31 when his lease runs out on the Oceanfront lot at 31st Street. Because of its size and structure, that facility has catered only to public skating rather than hockey leagues.
The Ice Palace in Yorktown, however, has taken some of the strain off Iceland. The year-round, single-rink facility consists of a regulation-size ice surface, four locker rooms with showers, four party rooms, a concession area, pro-shop and other ice skating services.
``We have our own in-house program for youth hockey,'' said Ice Palace general manager David Fies. ``We have about 300 kids in our youth hockey program.''
Ice Palace's hockey and figure skating programs are designed mostly for children new to the sports.
``We're doing fantastic,'' Fies said. ``On Friday and Saturday nights our evening sessions are drawing 550 people per session.''
Harvie already has purchased land in Chesapeake across the street from Greenbrier Mall to construct another Ice Palace.
To meet present and future needs for South Hampton Roads, a double-sized facility is ideal, according to a study conducted by Chilled Ponds. A double-rink facility, Cavanagh explained, would satisfy three markets - public skating, figure skating and hockey leagues.
In addition to the two sheets of ice, the new facility planned by Chilled Ponds will have seating for 2,000, plus a second-floor viewing lounge overlooking both rinks. The seating would be used for watching ice shows, hockey league games and possibly Admirals' workouts or pre-season games. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot
Patrick Cavanagh leads a group that wants to build a $4.5 million
double rink. Cavanagh coaches hockey at iceland in Virginia Beach,
the area's only permanent rink.