Coming improvements include turf field
By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
After three months of negotiations, the Lysander Youth Hockey Association has announced that it will enter into a lease agreement with the owners of Lysander Ice Arena. LYHA will officially take over the facility June 1.
“I think it’s an excellent opportunity for us as an association, for the community, that we’re going to be bringing back this ice rink to its glory days,” said Charla Roth, a member of the LYHA board of directors.
Roth said the lease is an opportunity for LYHA to “take our destiny into our own hands.” LYHA and the rink’s other tenants had long battled uncertainty over when repairs would be made at the rink, and the Syracuse Blazers hockey team recently made the decision to leave Lysander.
“There were points where day by day we weren’t sure if the rink would be open,” Roth said.
LYHA has signed a 10-year lease agreement with Home Ice 1, LLC, with an option to extend that lease up by 30 additional years. Roth declined to give specifics of how much LYHA will pay the Rochester-based rink owner.
The owner will be placing funds in escrow for renovations at the arena, including a much-needed overhaul of the locker rooms and converting Rink 1 into an artificial turf field. Roth said those renovations will be worth about $300,000.
“The two-rink model worked for many years. However, with the existing climate there is a huge demand for synthetic turf with our environment that we live in in Central New York, so we took that as an opportunity to change the model,” Roth said.
While minor improvements have already begun — volunteers were painting an office at the arena Feb. 21 when the Messenger and NewsChannel 9 visited — the heavy-duty work will begin June 1. Roth said the ice in Rink 2 will be melted down to make way for new paint and decals. LYHA will rebrand the facility and is working on a new name.
“You won’t even recognize the place because it’s going to be a brand-new facility,” Roth said. “We want to bring confidence back into our association members as well as the Syracuse Figure Skating Club and the community.”
Home Ice 1 acquired the arena from the town of Lysander in 2015 for $550,000. The arena opened in 1990, and the town of Lysander poured more than $2 million into the building since 1992.
Under the lease agreement, LYHA will retain the right of first refusal if the building is sold. The association also will manage the restaurant in the arena.
A fundraiser is planned for 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Lysander Ice Arena. The event will feature open skating with raffles and more. For more information, visit lysanderhockey.com.
