Anaheim, Disney to Build Joint-Use Ice Rink

The City Council unanimously gave final approval Tuesday night for a 90,000-square-foot community ice rink in the downtown area.

The rink will serve both as a practice site for the Mighty Ducks and a community youth center. Expected to open as soon as September, 1995, the rink is a joint project by the city and the Walt Disney Co.

City officials hope that the new Community Ice Center will help revitalize downtown Anaheim.

“I see this as the beginning of redevelopment in the downtown area,” Councilman Irv Pickler said. “I think it’s going to take off from this project.”

Designed by Los Angeles architect Frank O. Gehry, the rink will be on a 3.2-acre site at the southwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Clementine Street. The facility will house two ice rinks, one Olympic-size and the other National Hockey League-size. The Olympic rink will seat about 300 spectators, while the NHL rink would hold up to 1,000.

The Ducks, who now practice at the Glacial Garden Ice Arena in Anaheim, will use the facility about 200 hours per year. Disney officials said there will be about 12,800 hours of ice time available to the public each year.

The rink will be used by Disney’s new nonprofit program called GOALS--Growth Opportunities Through Athletics, Learning and Service. Modeled after a highly touted New York ice hockey program in Harlem, the charitable organization’s aim is to offer organized athletics, education and community service to underprivileged youths.

The program has initially targeted three neighborhoods around the center for participation--Jeffrey-Lynne, Ponderosa Park and Guinida Lane.

The facility will also include a retail pro shop, meeting rooms, an amusement arcade and a restaurant.