LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Northwest Valley could soon be home to Las Vegas' newest ice rink.
It's an idea proposed by the City of Las Vegas early last month, and comes as hockey's popularity has skyrocketed in the valley — especially among kids — after the Vegas Golden Knights came to town a decade ago.
The valley only has a handful of ice rinks, though, which has made keeping up with that increasing demand a challenge, which is why the City is looking to build a new rink on a five-acre plot of empty land near Hualapai and Deer Springs north of the 215 beltway.
As Channel 13's Northwest Las Vegas reporter, I wanted to see what Northwest locals thought about the proposal.
"I think it's a great idea," said Lorick Hollingshed.
Hollingshed has lived in Las Vegas for 15 years and has seen the Northwest's exponential growth firsthand.
"It's incredible — we built a home here 11 years ago, and a lot of this wasn't here," he told me. "It's a growing community, there's space to grow here. I don't want it to get too big, but I still see a lot of building going on."
Hollingshed thinks a hockey rink would be a perfect addition to the neighborhood.
"With the popularity of hockey, it makes having a rink here an even bigger [deal]," he said. "It's only going to get bigger, the [Vegas Golden] Knights are only going to get bigger — they're a staple now!"
A map from the City of Las Vegas shows the five-acre site for the proposed rink at Hualapai and Deer Springs — it's across Hualapai from the Albertsons shopping center, across the beltway from Centennial High School, and near neighborhoods like Providence, Skye Canyon and more, with thousands more homes on the way.
That's according to Ward 4 City Councilwoman Frances Allen-Palenske, whom I met up with after Wednesday's City Council meeting to learn more about her idea for a new ice rink in her area.
"I've been on the Council for three and a half years now, and during that time I've heard an overwhelming interest in recreational activities, and specifically hockey," Allen-Palenske said.
"This location is right there on the beltway — it'll be able to serve those folks and the people that are there now that don't have as many options as they do in the more urban core," Allen-Palenske said.
Another map from the city shows the proposed site in comparison to other rinks around the valley, including City National Arena in Summerlin and Las Vegas Ice Center at Flamingo and the 215 in the Southwest Valley, two of the most prominent youth hockey spots in town.
"Can you talk about the distances that families in the Northwest Valley have to drive in order to get to some of these places?" I asked Allen-Palenske.
"At least 10 miles, depending on where your start position is," she replied. "Not only that, City National Arena is overwhelmingly booked. It's hard to get ice time anywhere in the valley — demand is high, and there's just not that many sheets of ice for a city our size."
The City is accepting proposals from developers through June 15 (the original deadline was April 15, but Allen-Palenske told me they pushed it back eight weeks), but beyond that, the rink's timeline is unclear.
Allen-Palenske tells me her long-term goal is to see the site transform beyond just an ice rink into a major sports complex.
"Maybe with a fieldhouse," she said. "The possibilities are endless, depending on resources and interest from the development community — we just want to do it right."
Northwest locals like Lorick Hollingshed want to see it done right, too.
"It brings something new and different — the land has been empty since all of this was being built," he told me. "I think there's a need for it, it gives the kids another place and adults another place. I think it's a great idea."
While the ice rink is still a ways away, we'll make sure to keep you posted on the project's progress every step of the way right here on Channel 13.
For more information on the City of Las Vegas' Northwest Valley ice rink proposal, visit their websites by clicking here and here.
In the meantime, if there's something going on in the Northwest Valley that you think I should know about, send me an email at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com or just fill out the form below:
