First Shots On Goal Taken At Ice Complex Groundbreaking Ceremony

By Matt Wiley

There’s a chill in the air in Wesley Chapel. Or, at least, that was the theme during the groundbreaking ceremony on February 24 for the tentatively named (see below) Cypress Creek Ice & Sports Complex, located off S.R. 56.

During a unique groundbreaking ceremony that was attended by more than 100 people — including U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey silver medalist Anne Schleper and former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Alexeev — developers Gordie Zimmermann and George Mitchell of ZMitch, LLC, officially broke ground on their $20-million, 150,000-sq.-ft., four-ice-pad facility that will make Wesley Chapel home to the largest ice facility in Florida. But, unlike most groundbreaking ceremonies, this one had distinguished guests shoot pucks into an ice hockey net, as opposed to simply throwing some dirt with a shovel.

In addition, the hockey facility developers announced that they had entered into a 10-year partnership with Florida Hospital that will allow members of the community to voice their ideas for a fitting name for the facility through an online survey at WesleyChapelIceCenter.com.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb said that she is proud of the new partnership between the two facilities.

“(FHWC) plan(s) to offer educational programs on concussion and injury prevention, have experts available to provide athletic training, sports performance training and much more,” she said.

The event also was attended by several Pasco County elected officials, including District 2 County Commissioner Mike Moore (who represents Wesley Chapel) and District 3 Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. 

 “This is a pretty darn exciting day for this community,” said District 38 Rep. Danny Burgess at the ceremony, who represents Wesley Chapel in Tallahassee. “What’s happening here is nothing short of amazing. It’s important not only for our county and our region, but for the state of Florida. The state is paying attention to all that is happening here in Wesley Chapel. This is ground zero for all of the economic development that is taking place in our region.”

Former Tampa Bay Lightning general manager and current executive director of community hockey development Jay Feaster also praised the work of Zimmermann and Mitchell, who explained that within a 50-mile radius of Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, there currently are a total of eight sheets of ice in four facilities.

“We have one mandate from (Lightning) owner Jeff Vinik, and that is to grow awareness of and participation in the sport of hockey in this market,” Feaster told the crowd. “We (the Lightning) will be good customers, we will take advantage of this ice. We will hold camps and clinics here. We will do our best to drive more people to this facility to help make it a thriving enterprise.”

While dirt is now turning on the 13-acre property adjacent to American Consulting Engineers, the complex will soon allow for local high school and college hockey teams, like the University of South Florida (USF) Ice Bulls and Wiregrass Ranch High hockey team (which Zimmermann coaches), to cut back on the travel expenses of driving to and from Brandon (20 miles south off I-75) or Ellenton (50 miles south off I-75) for games and ice time.

Zimmermann said that he hopes to be open by around the same time that the nearby Tampa Premium Outlets opens on the southwest corner of the S.R. 56/I-75 interchange — in about nine months.

In addition to the four ice pads (including one larger-than-NHL, Olympic-sized rink and one removable pad that can double as a multi-purpose floor for basketball, roller hockey and other sports, as well as graduations), the facility also will be home to a sports-themed, family restaurant, although Zimmermann says he can’t yet release the name. The restaurant will have a view of all the rinks on the facility’s second floor.

“It’ll be a great place to bring the family and watch a hockey game,” Zimmermann said.

“The Cypress Creek Ice hockey project is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of project,” said Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) executive director Hope Allen. “The Chamber has been at the table since the beginning and we were delighted to play such a major role in the groundbreaking ceremony. It was an honor for me to share in the celebration with the ceremonial ‘dropping of the puck,’ even though my shot was laughable. I’m very proud this amazing facility will be in Wesley Chapel.”

For more information, please visit WesleyChapelIceCenter.com.