Sports

Braintree Hockey Pushes for New Ice Rink

There has been no movement for months on a plan for an ice rink and pool at Braintree High School.

Over the last few years, participation in Braintree Youth Hockey has doubled, today involving nearly 600 kids and 450 families.

The league spends close to $500,000 a year on game and practice ice time, given to ice rinks in Milton, Quincy, Weymouth and Randolph, but not Braintree.

"There is a significant passion for this sport," league president Tom McDonough said. "I'd rather write a check to my own town."

McDonough, speaking to the Town Council, represented a couple dozen parents in the audience Thursday at Town Hall and scores more Braintree Youth Hockey participants back at home who are pushing for the construction of an ice rink in Braintree.

"The ancillary benefits – you really can't count them," McDonough said, referring to money that would pour into Braintree from other communities' hockey programs and those who would visit for tournaments.

These arguments are familiar to Mayor Joseph Sullivan, who told the hockey parents Thursday, "I'm with you, we're trying to get this done."

However, a plan to have a private company, in partnership with the town, construct and operate a skating rink and indoor pool at Braintree High School has stalled over the last several months.

Sullivan said Thursday that he is committed to getting a deal done, but not if it means weighing down the town with excessive financial liability.

He said that he understands the passion of the hockey parents, but that he must prioritize how much taxpayer money goes into the project, especially with other capital needs such as school space requiring attention.

That means the town by itself has no plans to build an ice rink, Sullivan said.

Hockey parents have expressed deepening anxiety over the last several months as Randolph officials debated closing the Zapustas Ice Arena. 

"We as a program feel that will be a cascading issue," McDonough said.

Sullivan, who said he has a close relationship with Randolph Town Manager Dave Murphy, reassured those gathered at Town Hall that Zapustas will be open for the 2014-2015 season, citing a conversation with Murphy Thursday morning.

Murphy did not respond to a request for comment Thursday and was unavailable Friday.

Sullivan, after unveiling a new vision for the much fought-over project in December 2010, had originally hoped to break ground on the athletic complex at Braintree High School in 2012 and have it operating by the end of 2013. 

The town offered bidders $1.5 million from a fund set up in Petersen's name after he died in 1963. Petersen originally put aside $65,000, growing over the years to more than $2 million.

See more in this Braintree Patch article.


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