Panel Approves Roller Hockey Rink

Harbor Village will soon become home to Ventura County’s first outdoor roller hockey rink.

The city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a request to build an 80-by-180-foot skating rink on a grassy area near Ventura Harbor Village. The project will also include a two-story locker room with an observation deck, bleachers and staging area.

Ojai residents Nicole and Steve Soroka, who manage a hockey league called Street Sharks, have searched for a rink site for about five years.

The commission’s approval allows them to begin construction after a final architectural review by the city’s design review committee. They hope to break ground in March and plan to open the $200,000 facility to hockey leagues a few months later.

“We’re ecstatic,” Nicole Soroka said after the meeting.

The center will be open to the public for limited hours, but will primarily be used by local roller hockey teams. Street Sharks is one of the largest in-line hockey leagues in Southern California, boasting about 500 members.

Harbor Village Manager Oscar Pena told commissioners during a short public hearing that merchants support the project, which they hope will stimulate harbor business.

“A lot of our tenants are looking forward to hearing those cash registers ringing,” Pena said.

The only opposition came from Commissioner Bill Moniot, who expressed concern about approving the project before the design review committee signs off on it.

“It seems to me the cart is before the horse on this one,” he said.

City planners and an architect hired by the Sorokas assured commissioners that the design would be consistent with other buildings in Harbor Village.