BYH will pursue fourth ice rink

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

June 26, 1998

By Devlyn Brooks

Bemidji Youth Hockey will give building the area's fourth ice arena a "last gasp" effort members decided Wednesday night at a general membership meeting.

According to the 30-some members of BYH who appeared at the meeting, the opportunity to build another ice rink at this point in time is too great to give up. Therefore the group is reorganizing its efforts to approach the community's businesses as well as BYH's own members asking for donations to fund the anticipated $400,000 to $650,00 shortfall the club has encountered.

BYH has been trying for about three years to build another ice arena to alleviate a shortage of ice time caused by the increased popularity in women's hockey at all levels.

According to BYH Board Member Nora Shanahan, Wednesday's meeting was held to determine whether the organization should proceed with its efforts to build another ice rink. The club has raised $491,000 in cash and grants to date, and has committed pledges of another $383,500 from the city of Bemidji, individuals and businesses.

However, the three-year fundraising efforts of a handful of BYH members has left the group between $400,000 to $650,000 short of what it would take to build the complex the group desires.

"Our (fundraising) committee has been terrific in its efforts, but I'm disappointed that we didn't get more folks here," BYH member Hugh Welle said at the meeting. "From an economic aspect it makes sense (to build it ) and the money is out there. But I just don't think we have a big enough nucleus of people to push it through."

In addition to going forward with the fundraising efforts, the group decided to set its sights on the more expensive of two buildings proposed by the BYH board members. Both of the groups options had beginning price tags of about $1,054,000, but the "B" option building the group established as its goal includes a concession and lobby area on the north side of the building, a new dasher board and plexy glass system and a contingency fund to cover any unforeseen building costs. The total cost of option "B" is estimated at about $1.2 million.

The cost of option "A," which the group rejected, was about $1,017,000, but it did not include any work on the concessions area or a concrete floor under the ice sheet. It also didn't include the $20,00 contingency fund included in option "B."

Both options included $25,000 for a refurbished Zamboni and $3,000 for rink set-up costs.

Although Wednesday's decision to go forward with the fundraising keeps BYH's new ice arena hopes alive, the group faces a stiff challenge in that it needs to raise the estimated shortfall in 30 days. The prime contractor, Krause-Anderson of Bemidji, which bid the project about a month ago, promised the group at the meeting it would guarantee its bid for another 30 days, meaning BYH has to raise between $13,300 to $21,600 a day for the next month.

At the end of July, according to Shanahan, the group will know for certain whether they have the funding to build. If they don't, the construction bid will more than likely increase and BYH will have to return the approximately $300,000 it has received in grants from the state's Mighty Ducks program, Potlatch and the Neilson Foundation.

Returning the grants would make any future projects even more difficult to complete, Shanahan said, because the state might decide there isn't support in the community for the project.

"Mighty Ducks needs the club to either take the money now or give it back. They won't prolong the grant," Shanahan said. "If we give it back, we'll have to re-apply for it in the future and accept that we might not receive funding."

The 30-some BYH members who attended Wednesday's meeting formed two groups to pursue their fundraising, according to Welle. One group will meet with community business contacts, and the other group's job is to once again contact BYH members. No future meetings concerning the ice arena have been established as of yet for the BYH general membership.

"To drop it tonight, in my mind, would be a travesty. There is cash out there. We just have to ask for it," BYH board member Dale Thompson told the group Wednesday night. "It would irreparably damage the program to drop it tonight."