n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
PORTSMOUTH – Efforts to move forward with a possible indoor hockey rink and allocation of a sports stadium have been thwarted by the inability of a city-owned parcel, Mayor Deaglan McEachern said this week.
The city’s resolution in July 2023 to form a “site investigation committee” with the neighboring cities of Newington, Greenland, New Castle and Rye resulted in potential municipal locations, McEachern said.
“There’s a lot going on in all the decisions the board makes, and I realize other people read this and get frustrated,” McEachern said in an interview Wednesday. “I think there’s still a need for ice in the city. ” of Portsmouth and (in towns near the school district) in general.
The towns of Greenland, Newington, Rye and New Castle make up UAA 50 and send their students to Portsmouth High School in UAA 52.
McEachern said he believes the most sensible priority is for Portsmouth High School hockey players to have an ice rink in their town or a nearby town.
On Monday afternoon he will present to the city council his petition to ask for a report from the Recreation Council on “the path we deserve to take next. “
McEachern noted that PHS hockey teams “have had a lot of smart players,” but they’re burdened by having to exercise and play on outdoor courts around town.
“A lot of the best college hockey players can take advantage of this,” McEachern said.
“The help I heard and felt from other people about this was more focused on ice hockey,” rather than a larger indoor sports arena, Array said. “I think that’s what we looked at and tried to figure out in Portsmouth. However, we were hesitant to build one ourselves. “
The mayor added that he had heard “a lot of enthusiasm” from Portsmouth about the possibility of having its own indoor ice rink.
Tom Kozikowski is the athletic director of Portsmouth High School.
He said that “not having a net skating rink has definitely had an effect on our best school hockey programs. “
“Having an ice rink in town or nearby would be very helpful for our groups that struggle to have a competitive team every season,” Kozikowski said. “We have entered into cooperative agreements with Newmarket High School (for boys) and Oyster River High School (for girls) to necessarily give our youth the opportunity to play ice hockey in the school’s best PointArray and we still struggle with participation numbers, even after grouping schools,” he said.
In other cities, where “young people have strong ice hockey systems with a networked ice rink, that’s where they see the benefits when kids get to high school,” Kozikowski said.
Children in such conditions “play with their friends, build relationships and form strong bonds that will get them all to the best school,” he said Wednesday.
Kozikowski highlighted other Portsmouth games, such as softball, soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse, which “have been an incredible success in making their respective systems exciting and fun for the kids, which in turn encourages them to play the game they loved when he or she got to high school.
He described hockey as “a fantastic, fast-moving game that kids get hooked on from an early age. Unfortunately, in cities like Portsmouth, where there is no option to play ice hockey, families with children who are excited to play They have to play between 10 and 15 years. She drives miles every way to take her kids to the rink for practices and games.
Kozikowski said: “As a proud Portsmouth hockey parent a few years ago, I can tell you from experience that it’s definitely an inconvenience and a shipping expense, so most families probably won’t make it and those kids will be looking ahead to other winters. . sports options.
He added that “as athletic director, I would like to see Portsmouth build a rink and youth ice hockey programme. The benefits would be for our families, Portsmouth High School’s children’s and women’s ice hockey programs, and our community. »
Monte Bohanan, the city’s director of communications and network engagement, said that “earlier this year, the city met with representatives from Greenland, Newington, New Castle and Rye. “
It showed that City staff “have not yet identified City housing that would be suitable for a sports complex, as defined in the Request for Qualifications. “
In January 2023, two corporations responded to the City’s Request for Qualification/Expression of Interest to collaborate with them on the progress of an indoor sports stadium/hockey rink.
Edge Sports Group of Massachusetts and Florida Sports Facilities responded to the RFP.
McEachern has in the past supported the idea of establishing a public-private partnership with a company that would pay to build such a domain on city-owned land and then put the facility into operation.
He said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the city has had any contact with either business since last year.
A request for comment from Edge Sports Group representatives, which in the past has gone to the city council, was not responded to promptly on Wednesday.
McEachern and city officials have already discussed the option of an indoor track/arena at the city-owned Community Campus.
But the city built a new turf box there that opened in June 2021, and the council recently approved a bond factor that included $3 million for a second box on the same site.
Plus: $13 million in Portsmouth: Prescott Park, South Mill Pond playground, turf field and more
McEachern said the board “ruled out” the concept of creating an indoor track/arena on the network’s campus.
But he said that “it will most likely appear at this time. “
Building an indoor skating rink there, he said, “would update the course, and that would be an inconvenience. “
The city will most likely want to get more land from a nearby personal owner to make it work, McEachern said.
He also spoke of the assets of the former Sherburne School as a “possible site,” however, the city is in the process of redeveloping the assets into below-market housing.
“It would be a heavier use than housing, with more traffic coming in and out,” McEachern said. “I’d be surprised if we replaced the course with this now. “
McEachern believes it’s still imaginable that a personal site could be discovered in one of the UAA’s 52 cities.
He admitted that “the municipal government would possibly not be as involved” in a project of this type as initially thought.
“There’s still a lot of land that could potentially be involved with that,” McEachern said, agreeing that the Newington Mall could simply be one location.
But he emphasized, “I haven’t discussed this with the city of Newington. »
“It would be wonderful to have some kind of facility like that,” McEachern said. “I think there would be a lot of parents who would be very excited to have him near Portsmouth. “
McEachern noted the complexity of making an assignment work, when there is no municipal land for the known site.
“It’s hard to determine a location and then figure out how things are going to work together,” he said.
This article made the print run in the Portsmouth Herald: What happened to Portsmouth’s plan for an indoor sports stadium?