(Written by Savannah Jones)
MORGANTOWN W.Va – A public ice rink is set to open in late 2025 at Mylan Park, according to Mylan Park Foundation President Ron Justice.
The arena’s exact design is still in the early stages, but Justice said the rink will most likely include one sheet of ice with locker rooms and seating, as well as a skate rental shop. He said their hope is to have the rink open in fall 2025.
“It looks like it’s all coming together, and our goal would be to have a facility ready in the fall of 2025,” he said.
The project began as a collaborative effort between Mylan Park, BOPARC and several other organizations in 2013. Justice said they have been doing their “due diligence” since the concept was created.
With an approximate budget of $15 to $17.5 million, the project will be funded through previously acquired grants and private financing, which is still in the works, according to Justice. The current budget approximation will include core drilling, engineering and construction.
He said more detailed information regarding the facility’s amenities will be released in mid-August.
“We modeled it in a number of ways that we could have four locker rooms or six locker rooms or 1000 seats or 500 seats, those kinds of things, and we’re going through the cost due diligence right now to make sure that everything lines up,” he said.
According to Justice, the arena will be modeled similar to the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, allowing time slots for public use as well as competitive use.
“It would be a facility that would have programming as well as competitive skating in the facility,” he said.
He said he has been working closely with the Morgantown Hockey Association as well as West Virginia University Hockey, which will use the rink.
“Thus far, in working with the stakeholders from the competitive groups, they’ve had a lot of input in the project, and I know they’re very excited,” he said.