National Sports Center opens new figure skating center at expanded Schwan Super Rink
NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release, March 20, 2007
For more information:
Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer
763.785.5634 (office)
763.458.6615 (cell)
bkruse@mnsports.org
Jane Schaber, NSC Skating School Director
763.717.3891 (office)
jschaber@superrink.org
Public open house scheduled for April 13
Blaine, Minn. (March 20, 2007) – The National Sports Center (NSC) has opened its new figure skating training center at the newly expanded Schwan Super Rink. The Schwan Super Rink is located on the campus of the National Sports Center, in Blaine, Minn.
The skating center is a 6,200 square foot dry land training facility the includes a 4,000 square foot training room, staff offices, and a figure skating apparel store. The training room features a wood dance floor, mirrored wall, ballet bar, windows for spectator viewing, and a music and video system. The skating center has direct access to the facility’s ice sheets for on-ice training.
The new figure skating center is part of a 128,000-square-foot four-hockey rink addition that expanded the Schwan Super Rink from four to eight sheets of ice, and brought the size of the facility to 300,000 square feet. The original Schwan Super Rink, which opened in 1998, featured four Olympic-size rinks. In addition to the skating surfaces, the arena offers the Herb Brooks Center hockey training facility, the Hat Trick Café, Super Shop pro shop and 32 locker rooms.
The figure skating center will be the home base for the Schwan Super Rink’s skating school and the Northern Blades National Sports Center Figure Skating Club, the resident club at the Schwan Super Rink. With 1,500 participants, the skating school is one of the largest in Minnesota.
“This new facility will help us provide better skating instruction at all levels,” said NSC Skating School Director Jane Schaber. “Dryland training is critical to development and learning new skills for all figure skaters, and this will help us advance toward of goal of becoming a pre-eminent skating facility for skaters of all levels.”
Previous to the opening of the skating center, figure skaters did their dryland training in conference rooms elsewhere at the NSC, and were forced to work around the schedules of conflicting events.
“Everyone is very excited to finally have a space of our own,” said Schaber.
The skating center was funded by a $600,000 loan from Anchor Bank. The loan was endorsed by the Anoka County Board to qualify for tax-exempt status. The loan will be repaid by revenues from rentals and events at the Schwan Super Rink. No public money was spent on the figure skating center.
A public open house will be held at the new Figure Skating Center on Friday, April 13, from 3:00-5:00 pm. Members of the media, and the general public, are invited to tour the new facility. NSC staff members and local figure skaters will be available for interviews. Refreshments will be served.
The Schwan Super Rink is hosting the ISI National Synchronized Skating Championships, April 13-15, and there will be practice sessions taking place on the ice during the open house time.
“With 108 teams and 1,700 skaters from all over the country participating, this will be a great time to preview the new figure skating facility,” said Schaber.
The National Sports Center is a 600-acre multi-sport facility. In addition to the Schwan Super Rink, the NSC has a 10,500 seat soccer stadium, the Schwan Center meeting and convention building, an 18-hole family golf center, the National Youth Golf Center, an indoor Sports Hall, 150 bed residence hall, and 52 soccer fields. The facility is projected to welcome four million visitors in 2007, making it the most-visited sports facility in Minnesota.