It has been truly inspirational to see the Biddeford community come together to help save historic Waterhouse Field over the past year — and I’m hoping the same can be done for another local landmark.
The West Brook Skating Rink, which was built in 1921, wasn’t able to open this past winter and it’s going to take some help from the community to get kids back on the ice.
Dave Gagnon, who is the president of the Friends of West Brook Skating Rink, said in a press release in January that “the rink depends on an army of volunteers to get it up and running and maintained throughout the season, and we simply were unable to accomplish everything we needed to do before the cold weather set in.”
The group approached the City of Biddeford — which owns the property — to see if there was anything it could do to help get the rink up and running. Mayor Alan Casavant told the Journal Tribune back in January that there had been no money budgeted for the rink and the city council had not discussed the matter at that time.
When asked if the city could help in the future, Casavant said it would depend on the costs and other factors.
“It is really difficult to look at future budgeting because there are so many pressing needs,” Casavant said in January. “It depends on the cost, what it would take, and with one rink in the city already … if the cost is going to be expensive, to expend a lot of money for that for a number of days in a year creates a problem.”
The city clearly has a lot of things to worry about when it comes to its budget and where to spend money, but that doesn’t mean the community can’t get the ball rolling — just like it did for Waterhouse Field.
Former Biddeford High School standout and two-time Stanley Cup champion Brian Dumoulin is doing his part to help save the historic rink as he will be hosting an event on Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Biddeford Ice Arena to help raise money for the cause.
The “Skate with Brian Dumoulin” event will be held at BIA starting at 5 p.m. on Aug. 25. Tickets for the event are $10 for entry only or $20 for a chance to skate with Dumoulin, who is a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and his former BHS teammate, Trevor Fleurent, who is a member of the Maine Mariners minor league hockey team. The event, which is being sponsored by Weirs Buick GMC, is open to all ages.
There will also be a raffle with prizes and a 50-50 raffle. The arena’s concession stand will be open to serve food and refreshments and the lounge will be open for adults with a cash bar. Tickets can be ordered at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skate-with-brian-dumoulin-tickets-48761638373
It’s awesome to see guys like Dumoulin and Fleurent give back to their hometown — and from what I know about both of them, it’s not a surprising thing to see.
Both former Tigers still have a lot of love for Biddeford and I’m sure that extends to the West Brook Skating Rink.
A local hockey rink is an important part of any community — but especially for a place that loves the sport like Biddeford. Just like it’s important for our future baseball stars to have a local Little League field to practice on, guys like Brian Dumoulin and Trevor Fleurent needed a place like the West Brook Skating Rink when they were developing their skills early on.
For close to 100 years the West Brook Skating Rink has provided kids from Biddeford and the surrounding areas a place to just go out and skate or play a pick-up hockey game — let’s come together as a community and help keep it alive for the next generation.
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.