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USICERINKS.COM JULY.AUGUST.2020 / 19 going back to 1990 who now serves in an advisory role. "Unfortunately, here, hockey and skating in general is limited in a lot of places." Martin began his pursuit of building the Outpost. He headed to California to acquire compressors and tubing and brought them back. Martin used his own money and a loan to finance the facil- ity. He also was a general contractor and used that experience to build the rink. By January 1987, the rink was open; the hockey community in Albuquerque had a new place to call home. "Everyone was really happy just to be back in and playing," Thompson said. "Without having that place to play, I don't think there would have been a place like this in town." After opening, there was some growth in the skating community. In the 1990s, the area saw a growth in figure skating, thanks in part to the increased popu- larity of top skaters such as Olympian Nancy Kerrigan. The youth hockey scene was slowly growing in the area. But one sector of the hockey community saw increased growth: adult hockey. Starting with three adult teams, that number quickly grew to eight. "(Adult hockey) grew on its own accord," Thompson said. "There was a central hockey league in town that helped but a lot of the younger people were enthralled. We weren't that removed from 1980." A Sign of Growth As the 2000s began, the Outpost was start- ing to see some aging around the one-sheet facility after more than a decade of use. Once again, Martin took matters into his own hands. Using some of his per- sonal funds and another set of loans, he put together a plan to up the ante on what a quality ice facility looked like in Albuquerque. The biggest change visitors saw was the construction of a second rink, allowing for more ice time for all skaters, especially those in the youth hockey programs. Aside from just another sheet of ice, this construction helped create the most unique aspect of the Outpost: The CoolLoop. With two hockey rinks and two curling areas nestled in between the rinks, the ice completes a loop of sorts. So, when the public is allowed to participate in open skates, the ice turns into a loop that is about 1/5 mile long. "(Martin) wanted speed skaters to be able to use this loop," Thompson said. "We wanted to show that we can have many ice sports in that arena. The loop kind of promoted this." Though there was excitement around the fixed up new facility, the timing did not help the facility grow. The remodel finished up in 2006. Two years later, the U.S. faced the Great Recession, which slowed down nearly all aspects of business, including activity at the Outpost. "The remodel was pretty cool and expanded business some before the reces- sion," said Kevin Franchini, a long-time employee of the Outpost, including his current role as the director of skating. "It was kind of a mixed blessing." A New Era Business began to rebound as it did around the rest of the country following the recession. But as that was happening, a big change was soon on the horizon for the Outpost. Stanley Hubbard and his family had moved to Albuquerque as part of Hubbard's business pursuits in television and radio. Originally from Minnesota, this family had a deep hockey history. The Hubbards built a rink in Minnesota in 1968 and owned the St. Paul Vulcans, a long-time participant in the United States Hockey League. With Hubbard in New Mexico, and with his family full of hockey fanati- cism, he began going after the chance to buy the Outpost. Hubbard and Martin began discussing the ownership change. Eventually, Hubbard acquired the rink from Martin. IN THE 1990s, THE AREA SAW A GROWTH IN FIGURE SKATING, THANKS IN PART TO THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF TOP SKATERS SUCH AS OLYMPIAN NANCY KERRIGAN.