|
||||
  
 
 |
Ice rink to open Jan. 1 By
Jessica Kelly NORTH LOGAN --- Built by public and private donations, the Bridgerland Ice Arena is a facility built for and owned by Cache Valley citizens. It will open Jan. 1 to the public. According to the North Logan City Council, the ice arena is on county land but will be annexed into North Logan. It has taken a $5.3 million budget to build it so far, and it is still under construction. The facility will be used by Olympic athletes starting in January. The physical construction of the building used most of the budget. Of the $5.8 million raised, $4.8 million was used for the building and parking lot. The other $500,000 will be used as an operating budget once the facility opens. "We've had several organizations and families donate to our cause," said Executive Director Janet Borg. Two million dollars of the budget has come from local governments. Cache County has bonded $1 million to the project from the restaurant tax. This tax is used by the county to help fund local projects designed to promote tourism or recreation. Another $1 million has come from taxes donated by 17 cities and towns in Cache County. The Utah State Legislature had enacted a sales tax to help build Olympic venues. This year Utah towns and cities do not have to give the money to the state. It is the first year city governments have gotten to keep the tax. "I went to each town and asked them to let us use the money. Since they had never received it anyway, it wasn't crucial to their budgets," Borg said. All of the towns in Cache County agreed to bond the ice arena this money for the next 10 years except Smithfield and Lewiston, said Borg. The state of Utah also donated $250,000 from its general fund. Besides local government donations, the ice arena was also funded by the Utah Sports Authority, the federal government through community developmental agencies, Cache Valley Electric, the Marinner Eccles Foundation and the Emma Eccles Foundation. Several individuals and families have also donated money. Fund-raising started in 1997 and is continuing, as the budget is short money for a sound system, bleachers and more rental skates. Approximately another $100,000 is needed said Borg. Construction Ground was broken for the construction of the ice rink on June 2, 2000. It was halted, however, for seven months while an endowment was being put in place. In January construction started again. On Nov. 9 the lights were turned on for the first time in the building. "The next little while will be fun. Every day something new and exciting will happen," said Borg. On Dec. 3 ice will start being made, and Dec. 17 is tentatively set for Borg to be the first one on the ice. Borg started this project in 1995 by researching the feasibility of the project. She has also done most of the fund-raising. Currently the cement slab that will have the ice is covered with plastic. Below it are 16 miles of refrigerated tubing. The tubes that run back-and-forth below the floor will be filled with brine. The brine, which is salt water, will be kept at 10 degrees and is chilled from compression. There are two feed lines coming from the refrigeration room. They are filled with ammonia in one pipe and brine in the other. Through heat transfers between the two pipes, the temperature is kept at equilibrium. There are also additional pipes below the feed lines which are used to heat the subsoil. Without these heating pipes, permafrost would be created in the first three feet below the floor. This would cause the cement to be raised and the floor would be ruined. The temperature of the ice for hockey games is 18 degrees. It is kept at 22 degrees for figure skaters. The colder the ice is, the faster it is, which is why hockey players and speed skaters use a colder ice. Warmer ice is softer, so skaters are able to have more control when they use their edges to jump. The future The 2,000-seat arena will host several Olympic athletes who will be in Cache Valley to train for the upcoming games. The Chinese short track team will train from Jan. 5 to Jan. 20. After they leave, the French and Russian figure skating teams and the Swiss hockey team will come around Feb. 1 and train until the Olympics. Cache residents will be able to participate in a figure-skating program tentatively planned for Jan. 26. Joseph Sibabczech, a Czechoslovakian skater who now lives in Utah, will be one of the performers. A casting call for local skating talent will also take place, so local skaters can perform in the program. After the Olympics, the skating rink will also start Pee Wee hockey leagues for all ages and levels of experience. In addition, the USU hockey team will also use the Bridgerland Ice Arena for its home court. Eventually the ice arena will host summer camps for hockey players and figure skaters. In the distant future, the ice arena could also expand to have two floors. There is extra space for an additional refrigeration room. Another ice rink could be added where one of the parking areas will be located. Expansions would probably not be needed for 10 years said Borg. The Bridgerland Ice Arena will serve all of Cache Valley's residents. Borg said she hopes that as the community becomes more aware of the services it will offer more donations will be received. She said she wants the younger community members to see the Olympic athletes and USU hockey players and realize the potential they have. "By having athletes come here, a nice connection will be made for many youth," said Borg.
|
Archived Months:
January
1999 January
2000 January
2001 |
||