SCARBOROUGH – Citing the need for an indoor ice arena in Scarborough, a group of residents has come together to pitch a bold plan for construction of a 37,000-square-foot, 630-seat ice rink that would cost an estimated $5.5 million to build.

Calling itself the Friends of Scarborough Hockey, Inc., the group made up of Chuck Bradish, Lee Allen, Jeff Murray, Mark Maroon, Bob Jacques and Chelsie Woods hopes to get the arena built and open by October of next year.

The friends group is seeking permission from the town and the school department to build the ice arena on a plot of town-owned land adjacent to the high school, but said all construction and operating funds would be privately raised.

The friends group planned to unveil its plans at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, held after the Current’s deadline, and get a memorandum of understanding signed by the town at next week’s council meeting.

Town Manager Tom Hall said he’s met with the Friends of Scarborough Hockey twice regarding the ice arena plan and that the group has ‘spent a lot of time thinking through this tremendous concept.”

Hall said the memo the friends and the town may sign on Aug. 20 would be non-binding, but would “outline all the expectations, roles and responsibilities” associated with the fundraising and construction of the new ice rink.

He said the friends group clearly understands that the facility “needs to be self-supporting.” But, Hall said, based on the homework the group has already done, it’s demonstrated “there is strong enough regional interest in such a facility based on the scarcity of the resource.”

In an introductory letter sent to the Board of Education, the Friends of Scarborough Hockey said, “the lack of available ice to support youth ice-based sports in Scarborough and surrounding communities is having a negative impact on our students, specifically the middle and high school hockey programs.”

The friends said that the Scarborough hockey program is dependent on various rinks in southern Maine for ice time, but that the program is not a priority at any of those rinks, and none of those rinks could be considered a home base.

According to Murray, chairman of fundraising for the Friends of Scarborough Hockey, the need for a local ice rink became apparent this past year, when both the boys and girls hockey teams at Scarborough High lost their afternoon practice time at the MHG Ice Centre in Saco. That left the teams with poor choices in terms of practice times, either early in the morning, such as 5:30 a.m., or fairly late at night, such as 8:30 p.m.

Murray said, “We found that other towns, such as Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, were experiencing the same challenges in finding available ice for their JV and varsity teams. As a result we recognized there is a real need in our community for an ice rink that Scarborough and (the) two other (local) high school programs can call home.”

Murray said the friends group believes it would take about $5.5 million to construct the ice arena and provide one year of operational expenses, which would include hiring a facilities manager.

In all, the friends would like the arena to include a National Hockey League size ice rink, 10 locker rooms, four of which would be designated exclusively for high school use, a concession stand, a meeting room and a party room that could be rented to the general public.

In addition to being the home rink for the hockey teams from Scarborough, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth high schools, the ice arena could also provide support to local youth ice hockey programs, men’s hockey leagues, figure skating programs and community open skate sessions, Murray said.

“We have mapped out how the time would be used by these programs, and we anticipate the ice rink would operate at a full schedule from September to April,” he added.

Murray said building the ice arena on town land would have several benefits, including significant savings on transportation in terms of getting the middle and high school hockey teams to practices and home games.

To raise the necessary funds, Murray said the Friends of Scarborough Hockey would rely on both grants and private donations “so that there will be no cost to the taxpayer.”

The Friends of Scarborough Hockey are hoping to get a brand new, indoor ice arena open by the fall of 2015. Courtesy image