Volunteers scramble to finish Dubuque ice arena

The heat is on to finish a cool new attraction in Dubuque.

Wet and rainy weather slowed construction at the Mystique Community Ice Arena.

Now, crews are scrambling to finish the multi-million dollar arena in time for the Fighting Saints' first hockey game Sept. 11.

More than 100 volunteers are working against the clock.

Seat by seat, cup holder by cup holder, hockey fan Barb Block has her hands in every part of this project.

Block said, “We've laid coil. We've laid sand. We've laid tubing. We've laid brackets.”

Like dozens of other volunteers Block has been here every day for the past month, putting in her fair share of blood, sweat and tireless effort.

Block said, “I'll tell you, you get a lot of self pride out of it too. You can look at this place. This center, we built it by hand.”

Arena Manager Greg Samms put out the call for help last month, when the mountain of work seemed more than these crews could handle.

Turns out the volunteers are also helping keep the cost on ice.

“I would guess that we saved over $50,000 to date with volunteer labor,” Samms said.

Block says the community should take ownership and pride in this building.

“I want this rink to be done and I want everybody to come in and be happy and have a smile and say ‘wow,'” Block said.

Managers say they could use more volunteers. If you're interested, stop at the arena on Schmitt Island weekdays, after 4 p.m.