Palmer Ice Arena approaches grand-opening day

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - The final touches are being applied to the Palmer Ice Arena, as rink employees and management prepare for grand-opening day, Feb. 5.

While minor construction is still finishing up, open-skate hours are currently available on the weekends and on Sunday a few adults and children were gliding, tip-tapping and stiff-leggedly cross-stepping around the oval expanse of fresh ice. Rink manager Steve MacSwain said he hopes to see many more people as word spreads around the Valley.

"My dream for Palmer is to have families and kids skating out there and getting exercise," he said. "It's a beautiful arena we have here."

MacSwain said construction crews are finishing the locker rooms and laying out the last bit of matting around the arena.

"We're cranking here and we are really close," he said.

The next open-skate night is Saturday, Jan. 29, from 6:45-9 p.m. Detailed schedule information is available at the city of Palmer's Web site, www.cityofpalmer.org.

Children under the age of 4 receive free admittance. Kids ages 5-12 pay $2 and those over 12 get in for $3.

On Oct. 7, 2003, Palmer residents voted to support the development and construction of an ice arena in the Palmer community. The city received additional funding from the Rasmuson Foundation, the Mat-Su Borough, state of Alaska and the Palmer Hockey Association.

The ice arena is located at 480 East Cope Industrial Way, across from the Palmer Junior Middle School parking lot and fields.

MacSwain said the rink is gearing up for grand-opening festivities, which will take place from 2-4:30 p.m. and include speeches, a ribbon-cutting and a mini-game with young kids. Then, at 4:45 p.m., the Region III Hockey Championship game will kick off.

"That's going to be a big day for us," MacSwain said.

In looking back on the last few weeks, MacSwain said he is looking forward to having the arena open for kids especially.

"One of the first kids who came in here said, 'Oh my God, it's really true,'"

he said.