Ice Box planning third rink as it celebrates 50 years of operation
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In a bid not to lose any tournaments and the resulting economic impact they bring to the city, the Ice Box in South Bend will build a third rink at its Walnut Street location. The organization was scheduled to break ground on the project this morning, but postponed the ceremony due to inclement weather.
Between its two rinks and the two at the Compton Ice Center at the University of Notre Dame, about 28 hockey tournaments are hosted in the city annually. The South Bend Chamber of Commerce estimates that these sporting events generate over 25,000 overnight hotel room stays and more than $14 million in economic activity.
“That’s economic impact that affects all of the businesses in the downtown area and throughout South Bend because you have Notre Dame located at one end of town and the Ice Box on the other end,” Patrick McMahon, secretary of the Ice Box board of directors, told Inside INdiana Business. “The crosstown traffic has a big benefit on an awful lot of our friends that are in the hospitality business and we didn’t want to see that lost.”
When the Ice Box added a second rink in 1999, it cost $2.5 million. This third rink is projected to cost just under $12 million and open by the summer of 2025.
“We’ve gotten support from the Hotel Motel Tax Board, the City of South Bend, and we have secured some very significant pledges,” McMahon said. “We’ve also negotiated a significant line of credit that will turn into a mortgage should we need to. We’re close enough on our capital costs that we can move forward.”
The not-for-profit hopes to complete the project debt free. The organization has raised about $8 million and is looking to bring in another $4 million to avoid tapping the line of credit that’s available to them.
“We have a large number of people who benefit financially from what we do and that’s unusual for a not-for-profit to actually drive business activity for local businesses,” McMahon said. “That gives us a platform to think we’ll be successful without much debt, hopefully with no debt.”
Unlike similar organizations, the Ice Box and its board lack fundraising experience, a challenge that has made it significantly harder to navigate the donor terrain. McMahon said the Ice Box hasn’t had to raise money until now, and most people are on the board for their league expertise.
“If we can raise enough money so that we don’t have to borrow, we can drop the price of ice. We can target different groups; we’d like to see more kids have an opportunity to become involved with something as simple as broomball or any of the different types of skating activities that can’t afford it right now,” he added. “That’s been a positive part of our campaign as we’re trying to carry it forward because people have responded well to that.”
McMahon said the organization is looking to restructure its board and bring in folks with marketing, public relations and fundraising expertise.
The additional rink will also help ease the current ice schedule and open up league slots during the day, in the early evenings and during the summer.
“We’re going to reach out to as many community groups as we can to have them participate and build programs. We’d like to give an opportunity to change what they might offer to provide what those groups are now calling a frozen gym for part of their day,”McMahon said. “Because we’re located on the southwest side of town, we’re in an area where there are a lot of kids who need good and safe places to go and a number of organizations have already shown interest.”
Outside of tournaments, the Ice Box is also home to youth, high school and senior hockey leagues. There are about 500 kids in the youth league, 180 in the high school league and almost 500 in the senior league.
“If you described that to people from hockey communities and say, ‘Where do I live?’ They’d say Duluth, Minnesota or someplace like that. Not in the middle of a basketball state and certainly not here,” McMahon said. “The Ice Box has been around for 50 years and has had an awful lot of positive impact in the community, more than I would have ever expected 40 years ago.”
The Lerman family, owners of Steel Warehouse, opened the Ice Box in 1974 following growth in youth hockey activity in the area. With energy prices skyrocketing in 1978 and many single rinks moving over to local government management, the city of South Bend stepped in to run the rink for three years. Not wanting the rink to close down, Lefty Smith, Notre Dame’s ice hockey coach, advised incorporation as a not-for-profit. The initial board included McMahon, Smith, a building contractor, an electrical contractor and a paving contractor.
McMahon attributes hockey with much of the success he’s achieved since childhood. Originally from Minneapolis, McMahon came to Notre Dame on Smith’s recommendation and played on the school’s hockey team.
“Somebody made sure that the ice was in place, that they had teams that were organized. They put leagues together. Somebody made sure that the situation existed that allowed kids like myself to go down and have fun safely,” McMahon said. “So I’ve always felt that it’s my way to pay back. My kids have played, grandkids have played. A lot of our friends in the community are parents that we met sitting in the stands with over the years. So there’s a strong bond in the hockey community.”
Nick Witkowski, currently on the U.S. national sled hockey team got his start as a six year old with the River City Sled Rovers. He clinched a gold medal at his 2022 debut in the International Para Hockey Cup held in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Landon Slaggert, a former Notre Dame hockey player, recently signed a 2-year entry-level contract with the Chicago BlackHawks. Andrew Peeke, a former defenseman with the school, currently plays for the Boston Bruins.
“We find that the communities that see an awful lot of tournament activity are communities that have NHL teams, or have very strong Division I college teams, and Notre Dame fits that bill,” McMahon said. “If Notre Dame dropped their hockey program that would impact our tournament activity. We all know it.”
Being conveniently located between Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis has also proven to be an advantage for South Bend. The abundance of hospitality businesses due to Notre Dame football also makes the city very competitive and attractive to tournament organizers.
“We’re a resource for hockey programs. We’re a resource for people who come in and visit the community. We’re a resource for a number of recreational related activities tied into hockey and you don’t have to be a hockey player to enjoy the place to take advantage,” McMahon said. “We are very glad that the Ice Box has operated well enough these past 50 years and built good enough relationships that we can do this now that is needed. So we’re pretty tickled.”