BOPARC rejecting bids for Morgantown Ice Arena, will work with Mylan Park to host Ice Hockey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A complete overhaul of the Morgantown Ice Arena is being tabled in favor of collaboration.

The Morgantown Board of Parks and Recreation (BOPARC) has chosen to collaborate with Mylan Park to host ice hockey after unanimously rejecting a proposed overhaul of the arena valued at $12.7 million. Construction that would have stripped everything in the arena but the skeleton and added a single sheet of ice, a new chiller system, and several other amenities was rejected after estimates were given at over $1 million above BOPARC’s budget.

“Parks and Recreation commissioners and Mylan Park are actively engaged in discussions to address the community’s needs regarding ice facilities,” said BOPARC Board Member and Morgantown Deputy Mayor Danielle Trumble during BOPARC’s meeting Wednesday. “There are conversations about creating an additional ice facility to expand programming capabilities for ice sports locally,” she said.

A concourse, a new dehumidification system, bleachers, and an upgraded visitor experience were also included in the close to $13 million bid that was only taken on by one company. BOPARC stated that the renovations would’ve partially addressed the concerns of WVU Club Hockey and the Morgantown Hockey Association (MHA), and adding amenities such as lockers and expanded sightlines, among others, would’ve led to cost estimates of close to $5 million over the $11.5 million budget. Most of the rise in costs occurred during supply chain slowdowns and rising inflation over the past two years.

“We have received bids for the project, and they exceeded the estimates,” said BOPARC Executive Director Melissa Wiles. “Upon a cursory review, we believe that they were $12.7 million; however, one of the bids for ice-making functions was disqualified; the remaining bid would put the project at just under $15 million,” she said.

BOPARC has plans to meet with officials at Mylan Park to discuss the possibility of building an ice hockey rink at their facilities in the Morgantown area. This in turn would allow for the Morgantown Ice Arena to receive renovations within BOPARC’s budget that would accommodate non-competitive recreational uses while Mylan Park works to find the feasibility of an ice arena on their property. The collaboration plans to include WVU Club Hockey and the MHA in discussions.

“If WVU and MHA plan to use a different facility, built with a focus on competitive hockey and tournament use, it will be constructed at Mylan Park,” said Wiles. “Our facility would be best used to offer community recreation,” she said.

The change in direction for BOPARC comes after over a half-decade’s worth of discussions. Negotiations for funding included appropriations out of the Morgantown municipal sales tax, voter-approved county levy funds, and various grants to support the project’s budget. With all avenues explored to maximize the use of the Morgantown Ice Arena, it appears that the Morgantown area could potentially see two separate ice rinks that could serve all recreational needs.

“We are committed to looking at how BOPARC can make more reasonable improvements to the Morgantown Ice Arena for general community use, while Mylan Park researches the feasibility of construction of a new event and tournament-based facility,” said Trumble.