By Matt Wiley
It seems that Wesley Chapel is going to be pretty cool in the coming years, as two ice hockey rinks now are in the works for our area, although one of the two is significantly closer to becoming a reality.
On May 29, Seven Oaks resident Gordie Zimmerman of Tampa-based Z Mitch, LLC, held a press conference after closing on the 13 acres of land adjacent to American Consulting Engineers in the Cypress Creek Development of Regional Impact (DRI), located adjacent to I-75 off S.R. 56.
“To have a good hockey team, you need the right players,” Zimmerman said during the conference before unveiling conceptual renderings of the ice rink. “The county, King Engineering and everyone else have been terrific (in helping make this happen).”
The 150,500-sq.-ft., two-story rink will feature four ice pads, one Olympic-sized and one arena-style, with 450 seats for spectators, as well as a canopied entrance because, Zimmerman noted, “it rains a lot in Florida.” One pad will have removable ice and can will be able to be used for other sports or events, even high school graduations that currently take place at the University of South Florida Sun Dome in Tampa.
The conference, held inside American Consulting Engineers, was a packed house of Pasco County and Tampa Bay-area officials, including State Senator Wilton Simpson, Pasco County Commissioners Jack Mariano, Ted Schrader and Pat Mulieri, the Cypress Creek Group’s Chip Skinner and several Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) members, as well as former Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup-winning (in 2004) captain Dave Andreychuk, who is now the team’s “Vice President of Fans.”
Currently in the site plan stages, Zimmerman says that the building itself should take between 8-9 months to build and that investors for the nearly $20-million project are all already in place.
With the Brandon Ice Sports Forum (which Zimmerman says he helped bring to the Tampa market) just more than 20 miles south on I-75, he says that he doesn’t see other rinks as competition.
“It’s more ice for the kids,” Zimmerman said at the press conference.
Jeff Novotny, the president of both the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and American Consulting Engineers, said at the press conference, “My daughter and I can’t wait to lace up our skates.”
For more info, visit ZMitch.com.
Another Ice Rink In WC?
A few miles northwest, adjacent to Lexington Oaks on Wesley Chapel Blvd., former National Hockey League official Pat Delorenzo is working to build a two-rink ice facility that he says also could serve as a future convention center for the Wesley Chapel area.
“I’ve been working on this for the past six years,” Delorenzo explains. “I’ve got everything ready to go. We’ve just got to get it built.”
Delorenzo adds that he is set to close on the land for the $10-million, 80,000-sq.-ft. dual pad rink in July. He explains that his plan is for more of a community center than just a hockey rink. Depending upon the success of the initial concept, Delorenzo says that he plans to expand to up to 115,000 sq. ft. with a 3,000-seat arena that also can serve as convention, performing arts or concert space.
“(My concept is) not trying to steal from any other rinks,” Delorenzo explains. “That hurts the bigger picture. All of these rinks can feed off of each other.”
Delorenzo says that he plans to keep it low-key at his facility for all to enjoy.
“I don’t like seeing expensive ice time,” he says. “I want to make it affordable for everyone. I want the kids to have fun and learn to play hockey or figure skate. It builds self-confidence. These sports are great for kids.”
For more information about this other planned facility, please visit WesleyChapelIceRink.com.
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