CYPRESS : City Endorses Site for Roller Hockey

After evicting roller-hockey enthusiasts from beneath its chambers, the City Council this week endorsed plans to allow the hockey games at Arnold/Cypress Park until a permanent site is found.

The 100 or so skaters have been without a place to play since June, when the council approved an ordinance regulating athletic activities on city-owned property. The action was taken after roller-hockey players set up a makeshift rink under the council chambers.

Officials complained that the slab of concrete was not meant for hockey and that the players had damaged city grounds.

Marvin DeCarlo, head of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, reported Monday that his staff has been researching for several weeks where and how to relocate the players.

After surveying local parks and school sites, the Arnold/Cypress Park at 8611 Watson St. was considered the best location.

“Staff feels that with some renovations, Arnold/Cypress Park could be an ideal area,” DeCarlo said. “The others (parks) were either too small or too close to homes.”

Costs for constructing a rink, which consists of a concrete slab court and a puck-retaining wall, would range from $45,000 to $65,000. However, after hearing about the hockey players’ plight, several vendors of roller hockey equipment have come forward and agreed to build portions of the rink at no cost to the city, DeCarlo said. But the city is still faced with the problem of where to house the facility, he said.

“The major problem we saw was we just don’t have the land,” DeCarlo told the council.