Rink

September/October 2019

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THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH has never been one to struggle with a passion for hockey. Always in the conversation as a hockey hotbed, the city had a significant hockey boom after the Pittsburgh Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 (adding three more since, in 2009, 2016 and 2017). To help capture the hockey explosion, Bladerunners Ice Complex, a two-sheet facility opened up in the city's suburbs of Bethel Park in 1994. But recently, the local YMCA had a grander vision in mind for the community. "Seven years ago, YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh was looking for a permanent home," explained Jim Lybarger, operations director at the Spencer Family YMCA. "Up until that time they did not have one except for the South Hills location. So they purchased the twin rinks and trans- formed it into a multipurpose building, retaining one ice sheet because of how important it was to the community. "It's one of a handful of YMCA facili- ties in the country with an ice rink as part of its programming." In its entirety, the project renovations were to the tune of $12 million dollars. The Spencer Family Y removed one of the two ice sheets, maintaining and upgrading one NHL-sized sheet in the 300-seat capacity rink. "The only thing that remained intact were the rink boards, glass, benches and surrounding metal walls, and the bleach- ers remain the same from the original facility," said Lybarger, who served as the first rink manager when the original building opened up in 1994. "We went from sand to a concrete rink (flooring). We now have four full locker rooms including two referee locker rooms. Plus we have so many other amenities avail- able to our hockey teams and families. 18 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2019 USICERINKS.COM PHOTOS: SPENCER FAMILY YMCA Featured Rink Spencer Family YMCA | | Pittsburgh, Pa. FAMILY FUN Spencer Family YMCA providing plenty of activity in Pittsburgh // by JESSI PIERCE

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