Two governors will attend dedication of expanded Schwan Super Rink and opening of new Herb Brooks Center on Friday, January 19, 2007
Public is invited to ceremonies at the National Sports Center in Blaine
For more information:
Barclay Kruse, NSC Media Director
763.785.5634 (office)
763.458.6615 (cell)
Skip Peltier, Executive Director
Herb Brooks Foundation
651.226.7171
Pete Carlson, Schwan Super Rink Ice Operations Director
763.717.3881 (office)
763.458.6630 (cell)
Blaine, Minn. (January 16, 2007) – Two Minnesota governors -- current governor Tim Pawlenty and former governor Wendell Anderson -- will be special guests at the official dedication of the newly expanded Schwan Super Rink and the Herb Brooks Training Center on Friday, January 19, 2007.
In addition to the governors, other special guests will include Dan and Kelly Brooks, children of Herb Brooks; John Harrington and Buzz Schneider, players on Brooks’ 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning team; Edwyn Owen, captain of the 1960 Olympic gold medal-winning team; Bill Butters, Brooks’ first captain at the University of Minnesota; Bethel University President George K. Brushaber; and the mayors of the four cities that partnered to help build the Schwan Super Rink expansion: Mary Capra of Centerville, Dave Bartholomay of Circle Pines, John Bergeson of Lino Lakes and Tom Ryan of Blaine.
The Schwan Super Rink is on the campus of the National Sports Center, and the facility of operated by the NSC. The original Schwan Super Rink opened in 1998, with four sheets of ice. Two additional sheets of ice were opened on October 1 and the final two sheets came on line on December 16. The addition of the four new rinks bring the Schwan Super Rink’s capacity to eight sheets of ice in a single facility, making it the largest ice arena of its kind in the world.
The Herb Brooks Training Center is a year-round state-of-the-art 12,500 square foot training center made possible by the work of the Herb Brooks Foundation. The Center will utilize the Total Hockey Training System, featuring strength training and goaltending development.
Here is the time schedule for the dedication ceremony:
4:30 pm: Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Herb Brooks Training Center, adjacent to the Herb Brooks Rink (rink #6).
5:00 – 6:00 pm: Tours, refreshments, figure skating exhibition, Bethel University Rink (rink #5). Book signing by Ross Bernstein, author of America’s Coach. 100% of the proceeds of book sales during this event will go to the Herb Brooks Foundation.
6:00 – 7:00 pm: Free public skating, Herb Brooks Rink.
7:00 – 9:30 pm: Bethel vs. St. John’s men’s college hockey game, Rink #5.
The public is encouraged to attend.
The new sheets of ice are part of a 128,000-square-foot four-hockey rink addition, which brings the size of the facility to 300,000 square feet. The addition was designed by Rozeboom Miller Architects and constructed by Kraus-Anderson Construction Company. The four new sheets are NHL-size ice. The original Schwan Super Rink featured four Olympic-size rinks. In addition to the skating surfaces, the arena offers the Herb Brooks Center training facility, a figure skating training room, the Hat Trick Café, and 32 locker rooms.
From ground breaking to opening, the new arena was built in just over a year. Construction began in early December of 2005.
“The new Herb Books Training Center is dedicated to help hockey players move their game from good to great and develop a lifetime love for the game,” said Skip Peltier, Executive Director of The Herb Brooks Foundation.
In addition to the Training Center, the Herb Brooks Foundation will develop a Herb Brooks Legacy Walk with memorabilia of Brooks’ career displayed throughout the arena. In 2008, two sheets of outdoor ice will be added to encourage innovative, unstructured hockey play, a key part of Brooks’ hockey-development philosophy.
“My dad loved the game of hockey and committed his life to making it better for all,” said Dan Brooks, son of Herb Brooks and a member of the Foundation board. “Read his comments; they are what the Herb Brooks Foundation is committed to doing.”
The new Schwan Super Rink addition was built without any money from the State of Minnesota. The proceeds from the sale of Columbia Arena, which was owned by the National Sports Center, were applied to the new construction. Building partners include Blaine, Centennial, Forest Lake and Tri-City Youth Hockey, Bethel University and the Herb Brooks Foundation, who committed to be long-term tenants of the facility. This allowed Anoka County to sell construction bonds to finance the remainder of the construction costs, which will be paid for by ice-rental revenues. The cities of Blaine, Circle Pines, Centerville and Lino Lakes are also partners in the new expansion.