PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Fences have already gone up at Plant Drive Park. Skaters will have to trade in their roller blades for ice skates now that PBNAF has secured the more than $50 million that they need to start to build the Palm Beach Gardens Ice-plex.
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“I really thought that we would have another council meeting to discuss it,” said Hellen Brown, who lives across the street from the park. “So many people drove by today and they were like, What is going on? Are they? Are they fixing it up? I'm like, no, they're tearing it down.”
Rollerbladers and skateboarders all came to skate, but were met by the fence.
Brown lives across the street from the soon-to-be ice plex at Plant Drive Park. She says she’s surprised that the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation got the money, after they were denied an extension to gather the $40 million needed to move forward with the project.
Just weeks ago they had about $2 million in the bank, but now
“We have 50 million in secured funding,” said PBNAF CEO Mike Winters.
Winters, CEO of the nonprofit Palm Beach North Athletic he says there was never a question of whether or not they would get the money, they just wanted a safety net to match the timeline of the loans they applied for
“The optics were that we didn't have the financing, which was never the case,” said Winters. “We had multiple financial institutions, 10s of millions of dollars, all very interested in providing us financing agreement or arrangement. So we thought, just being transparent, we're bringing it to the city, and it would be accepted. Now, clearly that wasn't the case. Fortunately, we have philanthropic efforts behind us as well that stepped in immediately after the meeting and said, Hey, like, let's take care of this.”
“The Florida Panthers Foundation is donating to us, so they've pledged money,” added Winters.
“We don't have ice rinks in North County. So you have, you know, the most successful NHL franchise in the country or on the continent. I should say, the Florida Panthers. They've been to three consecutive Stanley Cups that won the last two. You ask any rink in South Florida, their youth participation is exploding."
Winters says he understands the frustrations of those living nearby.
“We're losing one recreational amenity, but we're adding, you know, $50 million asset for the community,” said Winters.
“And we are a 501c3 nonprofit. We're comprised of a board of volunteers. There's no one on our board who's compensated. And our mission is to bring ice sports and, indoor recreational complex to the community.”
According to the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, Ice Hockey is the fastest-growing sport in Palm Beach County.
But for people like Hellen, she says her issue with the rink isn’t about hockey.
“I love the idea for Palm Beach Gardens,” said Brown. "I think it's wonderful. We are against the location.”
The project is set to begin vertical construction by July 3, as it looks to open by December 2026.
