A good mix? Skatepark and Hockey?

[TonyZ]

I'm involved with a group looking at opening an indoor skatepark. Adjacent to it in the same building, we've been trying to decide whether to make a bigger skatepark or to create an indoor hockey rink for general skating and hockey leagues. There are not a lot of leagues were we are in the midwest, but our community of 300,000+ can support them. Are there benefits or drawbacks to these facilities being in the same place? Do they attract the same kinds and ages of kids? When leagues aren't using the rink, what can we use it for? Does the floor have to be a certain material? Can concrete work or no? We've just got a lot of general questions and several of our group thinks that the rink idea will not be beneficial. I think it will pay off for certain, but am trying to figure out who to talk to about running this kind of facility (the rink part), how leagues are set up, how much we can rely on the leagues for our income and how we make money on the whole area when there are not formal, pre scheduled games taking place. Is the area just then used for beginners and young inline skaters? Any ideas? Anyone seen or know of a facility that acts as both a park and rink? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ChloroFiend]

I can only think of benefits to having a roller hockey rink combined with a skate park. Skate parks tend to have a small group they attract to...males, 10-18. Adding a roller hockey rink, roller leagues, and open skate/birthday parties will attract a much more diverse crowd....little kids for birthday parties, middle and high-schoolers of both sexes for open skates at night, guys up to 50, even older, for inline leagues. It would be awesome actually.

For the rink, id definitely recommend sport court. its not hockey specific, and is easily maintained. i think it would serve you best, especially if you want to do open/rec skates. Concrete is probably not a good idea...its a bit too harsh, and will cause more scrapes and bruises than a plastic floor.

Id reccomend offering several pick-up hockey times....$5 is a good price to charge. Offer a couple for adults, 16+, and then some for kids under 16. Adults will tend to want night time pickup times, even on weekends. Kids would be best served by saturday and sunday morning/afternoons. Goalies should be admitted free, cause there are never enough of them!

Thats about all i can think of now...if you have more questions, please feel free to either post here, or contact me via email.



-Jon Gucinski #16
-<A HREF="http://www.stuorg.iastate.edu/rollerhockey" target="_new">Iowa State Roller Hockey</A>

[morrisville75]

what Jon Gucinski said sounds so true it can only help

[xport_urself]

where i live there was a hockey rink/skating rink that also had halfpipes and rails etc...it did do alright when it was first built for just inline skaters. if u made a skatepark with the rink it would be good if skateboarders could skate there aswell as i have found it is more popular right now than inline skating. for the rink maybe try linolium as that is what some of our rinks have here.

hope this helps.