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16 / SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2014 RINKMAGAZINE.COM I t sat deserted for two years. The ice, the skaters and anything that resembled a rink were all gone. Ice Mountain in Burton, Mich., had seen better days before being forced into foreclosure in 2012. A rash of vandalism and break-ins fol- lowing the foreclosure stripped the former rink of its identity. Copper pipes and elec- trical wirings were stolen from the rink in January 2013. Things were grim. "It was a warehouse," said Vince Brooks, general manager of the newly named, owned and operated Crystal Fieldhouse. "It was sitting vacant, collecting water and collecting mold. There was a lot of nega- tive going on, including several break-ins where they took anything of value." That's when Jim Cokley stepped in. A well-known name in the Burton and Greater Flint communities, Cokley was open to public input for the 70,321-square-foot building — along with 23 acres of surrounding land — after he purchased it in September 2013. Whatever the building was going to house, he was determined to make it something special for the community. That something ended up being the Crystal Fieldhouse, anointed by students at Flint Powers Catholic High School through a naming contest. "(Jim) decided he wanted to do this as a family- and community-operated rink," said Brooks. "He was going to make this work for the community." The new arena opened to the public on July 30 with open skate and drop-in hockey. The official grand opening was on September 7. Cokley and crew poured months of planning into the Crystal Fieldhouse. It had to be recreated and rebranded. It had to be better than it was before. Not New — Better It was going to take more than a simple name change to alter the remnants of the original building. "There was a whole lot of rebuild," said Brooks. "There was a lot of mold, a lot of plumbing and electrical work. We had A community vision revitalizes a dilapidated warehouse // by JESSI PIERCE Crystal Clear PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CRYSTAL FIELDHOUSE Featured Rink Crystal Fieldhouse | | Burton, Mich.