Newstrack: Cedar Rapids makes play to become Hockeyville

BACKGROUND

Construction of the 4,000-seat Cedar Rapids Ice Arena began in June 1999 and was completed in January 2000 at a cost of $6.7 million. The two-sheet complex is owned by the city and operated by VenuWorks.

Its main tenant is the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, a junior hockey club that is part of the 17-team United States Hockey League.

What's happened since

CEDAR RAPIDS - Can the City of Five Seasons also be Hockeyville, USA? It's possible.

Kraft is sponsoring a contest to find America's most passionate hockey community, with nominations being taken through March 18 at www.krafthockeyville.com. Nominators are asked to describe in 2,500 characters or less why their city should be Hockeyville.

The winner will host a 2015-16 National Hockey League preseason game, televised live by the NBC Sports Network. It also will receive $150,000 to help upgrade their local rink.

'It's a long shot, we all admit that,” said Dave Soper, general manager of the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. 'But we can hope.”

Soper said a preseason NHL game would be a historical event for the city. Imagine the Chicago Blackhawks showing up in town to play the Detroit Red Wings.

The money would be just as important, as the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena is 15 years old and beginning to show its age. Upgrades to locker rooms on both sides - Olympic and NHL - of the rink are needed, as are seat repairs and replacements.

The arena's two Olympia ice-resurfacing machines are the originals and well past their normal life span. Those run between $90,000 and $160,000 apiece.

'It's been 15 years,” Soper said. 'There is a need to spruce up the entire facility. There is wear and tear on everything.”

Soper said the RoughRiders also have given him a list of their immediate and long-term needs. The team pays annual rent to the city to play at the Ice Arena.

'Like office space, for instance,” he said. 'They don't have an office, they use their pro shop for that. They would like their locker room upgraded, their weight room. They would like that next to the locker room instead of up on the concourse.

'We need to help them keep up with what the (United States Hockey League) has grown into.”

Soper, in his first year, has hopes to re-implement adult hockey leagues at the arena and expand other programs. In other words, he has plenty of places he can spend $150,000.

'I want to get everything going back in the right direction,” he said. 'Back to what it was back when this arena was first built.”

If Cedar Rapids isn't Hockeyville, Soper hopes someday it will.