DUVAL COUNTY — The City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville Icemen Arena announced plans to renovate the Jacksonville Ice & Sportsplex located in the San Marco East Plaza at I-95 and Emerson.
Josh Trent has two sons that play hockey at the ice arena.
“They just got done with the season. They finished second in the state. They’ve been playing hockey for many years,” Trent said.
Isaiah and Parker are part of a travel team.
“All the feelings of, like, being with my team and having fun on the ice,” Isaiah said.
They’ve been playing here for about four years and on Tuesday, they were there when the Jacksonville Icemen announced plans to renovate the Jacksonville Ice & Sportsplex.
Their ice rink is in desperate need of renovations, and now the new 104-square-foot facility will help draw in skaters from around the region.
Local investors and a $7.5 million grant program were approved by the city last Tuesday to help fund the project.
On August 1, this facility will be known as Jacksonville Icemen Igloo.
That’s also when renovations begin, and during that time, people will be able to get out and enjoy the ice.
When it’s finished, the new facility will have two ice rinks, a pro-team shop, e-sports arena, Jacksonville Hall of Fame area and a premium sports bar.
“So you can enjoy your meal while being surrounded by the action,” said Andy Kaufmann, CEO for the Jacksonville Icemen.
As avid hockey fans, Trent said having a facility like this means a lot to him and his boys.
“With the Icemen coming in and being able to expand and giving us basically double the amount of ice we’ve had, it’s really going to enhance the ability to really progress forward into the hockey scene,” he said.
All games will still be played at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, but practices will be held at the new facility.
The Jacksonville Icemen told Action News Jax it will take 10 months to a year to finish the new facility, and it will cost around $18.5 million to complete.
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