It’s not every day that the town you live in partners with a pro hockey team to build a state-of-the-art street hockey facility. Fortunately, and remarkably, that’s precisely what the Town of Apex and the Carolina Hurricanes did to bring these beautiful new rinks to life at Apex Community Park. The ribbon cutting, held on March 29, celebrated the addition of this cutting-edge amenity here in Apex thanks to a partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund, which contributed $550,000.
I spoke to Town of Apex Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Craig Setzer to better understand how this cool venture came together.
“The Hurricanes were looking for a space to provide a street hockey rink and had been looking at potential sites. Someone working with them brought their project to our attention and we saw the opportunity to pursue a project that would be well received in our community and that would provide a space and activity that was not currently available in town or in adjacent communities, so we met with the Hurricanes to develop an agreement that would be beneficial to us both as well as the surrounding communities,” Setzer shared.
Site selection was pretty straightforward as Setzer detailed that the town had a field at Apex Community Park that was not heavily programmed and could be used without impacting program offerings. Additionally, and quite conveniently, there was sufficient parking, a nearby restroom and enough land for two rinks.
“These are standard rinks with boards, player and penalty boxes, scoreboards, and all the features of an official hockey rink. One of the rinks can also be used for basketball and futsal. [Contractor] Salisbury and Moore constructed the pad for the rinks. The Hurricanes provided the boards and the surfacing for the rinks. As far as we know these are the first standard street rinks in the Triangle region and the Hurricanes hope that the model can be replicated in other communities,” Setzer noted. And maintenance is pretty easy if you have a good leaf blower to render the playing surface debris-free.
As with any project, especially one like this that doesn’t have any real precedent, it took some time to get an agreement in place, but after groundbreaking, the construction was only about three months long. There was one minor hitch, but nothing that undermined the timeline. “We thought that a flat field being converted into a flat rink would be uneventful. But we did find a lot of unsuitable soils that had to be removed to ensure the site would hold up over time. This wasn’t anything that delayed the project,” Setzer recalled.
The rinks are open now for play and there are some future add-ons to be excited about. “We hope to add a roof structure with lights in the future. This will allow us to provide more hours of operation in the evenings,” Setzer said.
In partnership with the Hurricanes, the town will offer youth and adult programming, from try-hockey-for-free to organized league hockey, along with tournaments, camps, clinics and pick-up hockey. Learn more about current opportunities at the Carolina Hurricanes Youth & Amateur Hockey website: www.canesyouthhockey.com.
The rinks are available for anyone to use, but scheduled programs and rentals will have priority over other uses. The Town of Apex website has calendars posted that reflect times designated for specific activities on each rink. Go to apexnc.org/2043/Street-Hockey-Rinks and look for links to Red Rink and Black Rink calendars. A reservation is required for organized team games or practices. For rental information, call (919) 372-7503.
Patrick Fitzsimons, manager of Pleasant Park, is handling all scheduling related to the street hockey rinks. He shared, “Now that the rinks have been open for over a month, we have a better idea of the demand for various activities. The Hurricanes have expanded their program offerings, and we are working on an agreement with the Raleigh Ball Hockey League to facilitate some organized open play times on Tuesday evenings. During unstaffed open play times, the majority of the use has been by roller hockey players. We have seen very little use by futsal or basketball players.”
In the spirit of safety, we encourage you to follow these required and recommended protections for using the street hockey rinks:
Wearing a helmet is mandatory for safety, especially for protecting your head from falls or puck impact. A hockey helmet with a face mask or cage is preferred, as it helps protect your face from balls, pucks, or sticks.
A mouthguard is highly recommended to protect your teeth, gums, and jaw from potential impacts. Hockey gloves will protect your hands, fingers, and wrists from slashes, falls, and impact with the ball or puck. Shin guards will protect your lower legs and knees from balls, pucks, or sticks and should be worn by all players. And, lastly, wearing elbow pads will protect them and forearms in case of a fall or collision.
The street hockey rinks are open from sunrise to sunset all year round and are located at Apex Community Park, 2200 Laura Duncan Road.
Who’s ready to face off?
