South Jersey Group Looks to Fund New Ice Rink in EHT or Galloway
The future of the Atlantic City Skate Zone (formerly known as Flyers Skate Zone) is kind of up in the air.
The indoor skating rink, which sits on North Albany Avenue - Route 40 - heading into Atlantic City has had a rocky few years. There have been rumors of a closing, and now there's a possibility the facility may shut down if the entire Bader Field parcel of land is sold for some sort of major development.
The rink is right next to Sandcastle Stadium, the former minor league baseball stadium that also seems to have its best days behind it.
Enter a local nonprofit group that has its sights on raising money and then building a new ice facility.
The South Jersey Ice and Athletic Association has made some noise the last few days with a news release describing its intentions to start fundraising for such a facility.
The group (SJIAC) says it's led by a "group of committed and involved community members, led by Stockton University Ice Hockey Alumni."
Their first hope is that if Bader Field gets sold, the SJIAC gets a small percentage of the proceeds of the sale to "go toward the building of a new ice rink and athletic center for the hard-working families of South Jersey."
Amy Vanrell is Vice President of the Atlantic City Figure Skating club and a board member of the SJIAC. She says, "The potential for our children of both Atlantic City and Cape May Counties, and really all of South Jersey, has no boundaries."
A check of the group's website shows plans for a mix use facility that could accommodate ice hockey, figure skating, curling, indoor street and roller hockey, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, indoor football, birthday parties and more. A restaurant and bar, batting cages, golf simulators, and more are also suggested.
According to the SJIAC fundraising goals and events will soon be unveiled.
The news release says four potential sites for the facility are being considered. A representative of the group told me that they are working with a local commercial realtor, Paul Striefsky, and three of the site are in Egg Harbor Township while the fourth is in Galloway Township. " All of our sites are highly accessible for the families of Cape May, Ocean, Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester, Camden and Atlantic Counties."
So for now, we stay tuned for more information. This could be very exciting!
You can visit the group's website here.