A few weeks ago, NoVa Caps shared the story of the Bowie Ice Arena, which was under threat of being closed if the arena did not receive enough support for the approval of a new, two-sheet facility. After a hearing in mid-June, and some discussion among City Council, the Arena announced on social media last night that a new facility will be built.
The hearing for a new arena took place on June 17, with many supporters showing up to voice support for the approval of a new facility being built, including Keelan Moxley, a Bowie Hockey Club member and the young Caps fan who was famously given a puck by now-former Capital Brett Connolly in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last night, the Bowie City Council (which owns the arena), voted 5-2 in favor of moving forward with the project.
WE GOT IT! WE WILL HAVE A HOME #BowieProud
— Bowie Hockey Club (@BowieHockey) July 2, 2019
However, the vote for the ice arena, which houses the Bowie Hockey Club, Bowie Figure Skating Club, Bowie Ice Skating Institute team, Bowie High School hockey team, and various public skating activities, also brought with it some added benefits to the community, as Bowie Ice Arena Staff member Abby Snyder told NoVa Caps:
“Last night was a win for the books. We are all ecstatic over last night’s council vote of 5-2 in favor of moving forward and approving the contract for our new two-sheet facility. We are looking forward to the increased opportunity for ice time for both our figure skaters and our hockey players, while continuing to provide services to the City of Bowie community. This has been a long road, but the bottom line has always been that Bowie needs to invest in it’s amenities as a growing City.
We are also extremely happy to report that as a part of the motion, the Councilmen agreed to move forward with investigating and making plans to build more courts in Bowie for our growing basketball community. Part of the problem with this entire project was that it was originally proposed as a sportsplex including courts. When the City realized the bill for that project was just too high, they agreed to move forward with our two-sheet facility. This left the court community feeling like they got the short end of the stick, and led to many battles of ice vs courts when it really should have been ice AND courts all along. I think that understanding is something that helped push our project forward last night. I personally can’t wait until the day I bring my future children into that building for their first lesson, and tell them the long story of how hard we fought for them to be able to skate there. At the end of the day, all of us adults didn’t do it for ourselves, we did it for the children and their future in ice sports! “
Construction on the arena is scheduled to begin this fall and the construction should be completed sometime next year. The city council is currently in talks with Hughes Group Architect and Hill International to design the 77,500 square foot facility, which will include concessions, seating, two rinks which will seat 700 and 100, respectively, locker rooms (12), and 250 parking spaces, per the Bowie Blade. The proposed design will look similar to the design below:
Hockey is a sport that requires a team to work together to win games, and it is fitting that not only did the fate of a beloved ice arena bring a community of people who care about the sport secure a future for hockey, ice skating, and recreational skating activities, but it also added an additional sports venue that will provide entertainment for many residents for years to come. The journey was long, but in the end, Bowie Got its Ice.
For more information and updates on the Bowie Ice Arena:
By Michael Fleetwood