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Hermantown, Maple Grove, Marshall, Northfield and many other
towns demonstrate a clear intent to preserve and celebrate the
local rink as centerpieces of our communities and as gathering
places that provide value to residents. Last fall in Bloomington,
otherwise rival players from Kennedy and Jefferson high schools
joined forces, encouraging their neighbors to support improve-
ments to the iconic Bloomington Ice Garden.
Snee says there is a heightened awareness of how important
public ownership of ice arenas is to the overall health of the game.
"The ice arena is to the winter what the high school football
field is to the fall," he said. "It's where the community gathers,
where people who played hockey 50 years ago still show up to
watch the high school teams,
where neighbors grab a coffee
to watch their kids play and
get caught up. The ice arena allows the 'meaningful' of hockey in
Minnesota to occur."
"In Minnesota, what we have hockey-wise is unique and
special and it works extremely well," Snee added. "If you love
hockey, specifically hockey in Minnesota, we need to make
sure that support for the community-owned arena doesn't
start to erode. Hockey in Minnesota is as healthy as it's ever
been, and the best time to take care of something is when it's
healthy."
Proctor residents voted to
approve the construction of
St. Luke's Sports and Event
Center, which opened in
2018 to rave reviews.
