Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee has voted to support an upcoming study for a new ice area that will be conducted by Marathon County and other interested entities.
City and County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Director Jamie Polley says the item was brought to the committee in the name of transparency, as some department dollars are being used to fund it. She also said the city has an interest in what a new ice arena could bring to the community. “It’s an asset used by the community,” said Polley. “It is kind of a staple in the middle of Wausau but it also has potential [to enhance] tourism and sporting events. It also supports the school district, it’s their home ice.”
Polley says they’re considering an arena that would house ice year-round, with the possibility for a second sheet during winter months. But they won’t know what is practical until next spring when the study is complete. She also notes that the study is non-binding. “It does not obligate the county, city, or school district to any kind of construction. It is really just a study to see what the needs and demands are, and what the possibilities could be.
“[It would also] give us an idea of what it would look like and what the costs would be,” she added.
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Polley has had informal discussions with the WIAA about the arena, as they may be looking to move the state hockey tournaments out of the Madison area in the next few years. The arena could also allow the Wausau Cyclones to move to a higher level of junior hockey, such as the USHL, if it would fit the requirements of that league.
Ice-making is already underway at the current arena ahead of an exhibition game between the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and Madison Capitols on Saturday. Had temperatures stayed near 90 degrees like they were over Labor Day weekend, Polley says the ice would not have held up due to the lack of insulation in the current arena.
Thirty percent of all ticket revenue from the USHL preseason game will be donated to local youth hockey programs.
The vote did not involve any public tax dollars. Polley says the department will use money from its community donation fund- some of which is marked for specific projects but the rest is used “for the enhancement of the parks system.”
The committee voted 4-1 to support the study. Adler Tom Kilian was the lone “no” vote though he said he supports the idea of a new ice arena but doesn’t want to see public money used for it at this time.
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