Ice Box launches third rink, boosting youth access and economic impact
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The Ice Box in South Bend has officially expanded with the opening of a third indoor ice skating rink, a move hailed by community leaders as a major step forward for youth sports, local access and regional tourism.
Patrick Mahon, secretary of the Ice Box board of directors, said the expansion was made possible through a wide range of support and is rooted in decades of community growth around skating and hockey.
“We decided to do the new rink because there was a shortage of ice, with a couple of our outdoor rinks closing” Mahon said. “We needed to find a place to put a lot of that activity.”
Mahon talks about why a third rink was needed and how starting earlier than planned worked out well.
Youth sports generate $27 million annually in economic activity for St. Joseph County, with 41,000 hotel room nights tied to these events, South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jeff Rea said. Youth hockey in particular contributes over 55% across 28 events from November through March. Visitors from roughly 31 states travel to the area, helping drive more than $15 million each year into the local economy through youth hockey alone.
“We could not do this without a facility like the Ice Box. This has been a labor of love for a lot of people,” Rea said. “We’ll compete for projects that we never were able to because of this third sheet of ice.”
Mahon noted the long arc of development from farmland to steel works to a vibrant ice sports scene beginning in 1968 when Lefty Smith showed up with Tim McNeil and began the varsity hockey team at the University of Notre Dame. That launch triggered a surge in clubs and leagues.
As part of the renovation, a Hall of Fame history wall will honor key figures who helped skating thrive locally. The construction was supported by a coalition of local and regional contractors, including Goshen-based Ancon Construction.
The project received $2 million each from the South Bend Redevelopment Commission and the Hotel Motel Tax Board. Private donations added $4 million, and a $4 million loan from 1st Source Bank allowed construction to begin early.
“They helped us start this project a year earlier than we were going to. If we didn’t, we never would have gotten contractors,” Mahon said. “Prices were going through the roof…because of everything that’s happening over in New Carlisle and throughout the community.”
Mahon also announced a public fundraising campaign, Cheapskate, to eliminate the facility’s debt and lower ice time costs for the community.
“We’re a neighborhood facility. We’ve got lots of schools, lots of different organizations and we’re opening it up so that they can use it,” he continued. “We want more kids on the ice playing cheaper than they have been in the past.” Mahon said.
The need for expansion grew after the closure of some outdoor rinks increased demand for longer practices, as well as growing interest in women’s hockey. Mahon said the rink’s programming is coordinated with Notre Dame, ensuring streamlined tournament and league scheduling.
“There’s not too many communities around in the country that can say all four or five rinks are coordinated by one entity to make sure that things will work for you when you come into town,” Mahon added. “That’s been greatly appreciated by the leagues and tournaments that we work with.”
South Bend Mayor James Mueller acknowledged the challenges faced throughout the Ice Box project, calling the completion a major milestone. Emphasizing the strength of community collaboration behind the expansion, Mueller credited the Lehrman family’s leadership as essential to sustaining the Ice Box on the city’s west side.
“This is a big driver to our local economy but it goes beyond just economic opportunities. It goes to quality of life, to who we are as people and the relationships that we form,” Mueller said. “A lot of great relationships form here at the Ice Box and a lot of life skills are formed here. We look forward to its expansion and continued success throughout our community.”