Crested Butte South less than $4K away from new boards

Donations needed this week to make project happen

Crested Butte South is less than $4,000 away from meeting a fundraising goal to buy some “new to us” hockey boards for the NHL sized ice rink in Red Mountain Park. The property owners association (POA) is asking anyone with an interest in hockey to donate whatever they can in the next week so the new boards can be installed before the upcoming season.

The Crested Butte South rink gets used five nights a week during hockey season by midgets and squirts and everything up to adult hockey teams. It currently has painted plywood sheets as backboards.
 The subdivision has been trying to get new hockey boards for several years.
“We’ve been trying this for the last three years. We had some fundraisers and have had a bunch of commitments made,” says POA manager Chris Behan. By the end of last winter over $11,000 had been raised for the cause, and by mid-September the gap was down to $4,500.
The “new boards” will actually be used NHL-style boards from another rink, and will cost $22,000. All of the dirt-work, engineering and labor needed to install the new boards will be performed for free through “in kind” donations from various businesses and individuals.
Behan says the existing boards are at least 20 years old. “They’ve seen better days,” Behan says. “They’re essentially two three-quarter-inch sheets of plywood stuck together with a frame. They sit directly on the ground. When we get the ice down there is only 40 or 42 inches of board height. The boards are supposed to be 48 inches, so there are some inconsistencies or safety issues. They’re great for a practice facility, but not so great for games and tournaments.”
Last week Behan sent an email to hockey enthusiasts and previous donors, asking for a little more financial help to get the new boards installed for the upcoming season.
In just a few days, Behan says, he was getting positive responses and the gap was down to $3,789.
The Crested Butte South facility is popular with the local hockey community and gets used in conjunction with the town of Crested Butte’s hockey programs. “Basically it’s booked five nights a week from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.,” Behan says.
Crested Butte Parks and Recreation director Jake Jones says, “Our kids have a lot more ice time than most hockey associations, partially because we have the two sheets of ice to use.… Having the Crested Butte South rink in the best shape possible will really benefit our youth hockey program. We want to have a comparable standard at all of the rinks. New boards will really help that [Crested Butte South] product improve and make it more like the rink in Crested Butte.”
Behan says the facility currently gets used for practice more than actual games. “What we’ve heard is it’s not the nicest or most consistent set of boards that people want to play games on, so they try to avoid it if scheduling can allow it,” Behan says. But he says games become more frequent on the Crested Butte South rink for the younger hockey teams because “There’s nothing else.”
Between youth games and scheduled practices, the rink is open for public skating.
Behan says if he gets pretty close to the fundraising goal the Crested Butte South POA board might pitch in some extra cash to finish the project this year. “We would probably figure out a way to squeeze it out of the budget. Last year was first year we actually made a couple dollars off the hockey program,” Behan says.
This year he thinks the POA can make even more income renting out the hockey facility. First, Behan is trying to secure better advertising contracts that will be displayed on the Crested Butte South Zamboni. He is also hoping the Crested Butte South Metropolitan District moves forward with the purchase of a skid-steer mounted snow blower, which should greatly reduce the labor time needed to clear off the ice rink after every snowfall. With those incentives Behan thinks the POA board might be more willing to contribute the final amount needed to install new boards at the rink.
For anyone interested in supporting the cause, there are two ways to contribute. Donors can earn a tax credit by making a contribution through the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (call 641-8837 and ask about the Crested Butte South Rink Improvements Fund); or contact the POA office directly at 349-6632.