Photo: Free Lance Star
The Washington Capitals, their players, coaches, and other members of the organization have always been known off the ice for their exceptional work in the communities surrounding D.C.. The team has worked with dozens of cities to create opportunities for both adults and youth to have exposure to hockey. The next city to have that opportunity will be Fredericksburg, Virginia.
*Side note: I (Michael Fleetwood) live in Fredericksburg so this is a truly exciting thing for me and cannot wait for it to be finished!
The Capitals announced earlier in the year (see The Free-Lance Star’s article on the announcement from May 2018 here) that a roller hockey rink would be constructed in Fredericksburg, though the location had not been confirmed at the time. The future location of the rink (which will look similar to the one in the photo above) will be Dixon Park, which also includes a local swimming pool, and numerous soccer and recreational sports fields. Construction is set to begin in October 2018 and the opening of the rink will commence sometime early next year.
The Caps will provide training for teachers at the city’s schools and provide equipment for students as well. The new inline rink will be the only one of its kind in a 50-mile radius and will host toddler and youth inline leagues, as well as adult leagues; it will also host summer camps and will also be open for pickup games and will also be available to be rented for personal events. The Caps are expected to spend roughly $100,000 to build the rink, scoreboards, buy goals, benches, and fencing and the city is to be in charge of preparing the site for construction.
The rink is a part of the Capitals’ Legacy Project, which is an effort to expand the love of the game by building and upgrading 20 rinks in the Washington Metro area by the year 2020. The city and team are currently seeking local advertisers to sponsor the rink.
For more information, visit the rink’s Facebook page for regular updates
By Michael Fleetwood (Fredericksburg native and resident)
