Winger for Hire
Praise Beebo
Hey guys, as you know every year Kraft run its Hockeyville promotion and this year a local rink has made the Top 10, the Ice Garden in the Mon Valley (Rostraver, PA along Route 51).
This rink holds a special place in my heart. Between learning to skate there, watching friends play games there, concerts, and ECW shows I, and a lot of Mon Valley residences have many good memories there. It's a very dated rink that could desperately use the updates.
About 7/8 year ago, during one of the big snows and as a tournament was being run, the roof of the rink caved in (thankfully no one was injured) and put a lot of high school and mite and midget teams' seasons in jeopardy and chaos.
The Western PA hockey community is growing at a very fast pace and facilities and ice times are shrinking instead of growing. The Ice Garden could soon join that terrible trend. The long time owner, Murph, is getting old (late 70s) and his children don't want to keep the rink going when he steps down, so Murph is trying to sell to someone or a group that will keep the rink going. So far the state of the rink has not attracted any groups/people that want to keep it as an ice rink (besides the local Mon Valley Thunder hockey organization, but they are a non-profit with limited funds). The only real interest has been from FedEx and UPS to turn it into a distribution hub. This would be a devastating blow to not just the Mon Valley and Western PA hockey community, but the Mon Valley as a whole as the Ice Garden is a great little venue for small concerts, Indy Wrestling shows, and small conventions, not to mention Friday and Saturday night hangouts during free skate for kids.
Please go on the www.krafthockeyville.com and vote (all 50 times
) for the Ice Garden. I, and my 10 year old self, thanks you.
This rink holds a special place in my heart. Between learning to skate there, watching friends play games there, concerts, and ECW shows I, and a lot of Mon Valley residences have many good memories there. It's a very dated rink that could desperately use the updates.
About 7/8 year ago, during one of the big snows and as a tournament was being run, the roof of the rink caved in (thankfully no one was injured) and put a lot of high school and mite and midget teams' seasons in jeopardy and chaos.
The Western PA hockey community is growing at a very fast pace and facilities and ice times are shrinking instead of growing. The Ice Garden could soon join that terrible trend. The long time owner, Murph, is getting old (late 70s) and his children don't want to keep the rink going when he steps down, so Murph is trying to sell to someone or a group that will keep the rink going. So far the state of the rink has not attracted any groups/people that want to keep it as an ice rink (besides the local Mon Valley Thunder hockey organization, but they are a non-profit with limited funds). The only real interest has been from FedEx and UPS to turn it into a distribution hub. This would be a devastating blow to not just the Mon Valley and Western PA hockey community, but the Mon Valley as a whole as the Ice Garden is a great little venue for small concerts, Indy Wrestling shows, and small conventions, not to mention Friday and Saturday night hangouts during free skate for kids.
Please go on the www.krafthockeyville.com and vote (all 50 times
) for the Ice Garden. I, and my 10 year old self, thanks you.
It was my rink growing up, and I'd love to see the renovations completed and a preseason game there. Murph is a great guy, so, hopefully, Rostraver pulls it out! 
