New Hope Ice Arena Serves Suburbs with History, Hockey
It’s not a Saturday morning at the New Hope Ice Arena unless it’s bustling and bursting with activity. On any given week, there could be figure skating lessons, hockey practice, dance rehearsals, and a team planning to host a hockey tournament.
Many of the people involved at the rink have been working there for years.
Dawn Landon Boice has been teaching figure skating lessons at the arena since it opened in 1975.
“It’s truly a part of my life and it’s who I am at this point,” said Boice.
Many of the instructors that teach with her in the New Hope Figure Skating School grew up at the rink and learned how to skate under Boice.
“People say it’s like a home away from home,” said Boice.
Dancing Above the Ice
Tucked above the ice, there’s a dance studio where Melissa Guse says she’s lucky to have the space.
“Most dance studios in the rec level get bounced around from school to school, but we’ve gotten to be up here for 30 years and we have a studio,” said Guse.
Heidi Richards Lindstrom is helping prepare for an elite hockey tournament. She’s a self-described “rink rat” who grew up at the rink where here NHL-caliber brothers played. She’s still very much a fixture at the rink, helping coordinate teams from around the world and NHL scouts prepare for a weekend tournament.
“The teams I’ve brought from all over the world have requested to practice or play in the North Rink because that’s the rink where the Mighty Ducks was filmed,” said Lindstrom.
Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks” still continues to leave a sparkle on the New Hope Ice Arena, with people enjoying playing there because some major scenes were shot in the North Rink.
The New Hope Ice Arena is located in the 4900 blk. of Louisiana Avenue North.
“Mighty Ducks” Magic
Jim Corbett managed the rink for almost 40 years and was the manager when “The Mighty Ducks” was filmed there. He says the attraction to the arena as a scene in the movie was the unique barrel roof.
“That’s the reason we got the Mighty Ducks in 1992. Their scouts came out and took a look and fell in love with the roof,” remembers Corbett. “I had Emilio Estevez in my office and Paula Abdul, whom he was married to at the time, and the gentleman Hans who got the contract for [“The Hunt for the Red October”] while he was in my office.”
A grant made possible by the movie brought in funds to help with the building of a second sheet of ice that opened in 1996. The addition only elevated the status of the arena. Corbett says that’s in part due to the fact that the second arena was developed with seating and not just as a practice facility.
Keeping the rink sparkling and in good working order now falls on current manager Mark Severson. Improvements have made the rink more energy efficient. Crews use ammonia instead of freon to chill the brine and make the ice. Warm air from equipment rooms are captured and reused to heat a number of places around the building.
“It takes a great amount of work,” said Severson. “It’s a very big place and a very busy place.”
Another improvement included adding skate rental to the options at the facility.
Chris O’Toole, another employee who has been working at the rink for decades, keeps skates sharp and rents them out to customers. He also takes tickets at the door for big games. He sees the rink in many capacities and says it’s a community treasure.
“I would say it’s a huge asset to the community,” said O’Toole. “It gives the community lots of different things to do, whether it’s watch hockey, play hockey, learn how to skate or come in during open skating and skate on your own.”
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