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An ice rink for THPRD?

For a little over a year, top level administrators with the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) have been in confidential negotiations with the Portland Winterhawks hockey team over the Winterhawks proposal to create a new ice facility on the grounds of the Howard M. Terpenning Recreation Complex (HMT) at 158th and Walker Rd. in Beaverton.

The ice rink would include two “sheets” of competition quality ice. It is proposed to be located in the northwest corner of the complex, approximately where the skate park is now located. The Winterhawks would lease the land from THPRD, and the facility would be built with a “substantial private donation” from an as-yet undisclosed source.

The THPRD Comprehensive Plan, updated in 2013, suggests exploring public-private partnerships and revenue enhancements for the district. One section of the updated plan suggests several types of “Enterprise Facilities or Additional Amenities” although an ice rink is not specifically mentioned. The THPRD Board of Directors has been informed throughout the negotiation process, and in January they voted to authorize development of a contract with the Winterhawks.

It is expected that the ice facility, through Winterhawks lease payments and revenue from public use of the facility, would pay back the district for its investment. The team plays its home games at the MODA Center in Portland, but it’s too expensive for them to practice there. They will mostly be practicing during daytime hours. The rink will be available for public use when the team isn’t there, including daily open skate time and learning programs. It may be able to host other types of ice events, including figure-skating and curling. The Winterhawks will pay operational costs of the facility.

THPRD will still own the property, as it does with the Timbers soccer team practice facility near Allen Bl., behind the THPRD Fanno Creek Service Center. That has been a successful partnership, providing top-quality soccer facilities during times that the Timbers aren’t using it.

The district held meetings late last year with members of the skate community, who use the popular skateboard park. They were happy to find out that the district was committed to relocating and rebuilding the skate park and working with the skate community to design improved facilities. The inline rink adjacent to the skate park gets very little use and will not be replaced.

If negotiations are successfully completed this spring, design and permitting will begin with an expected start for construction in two or three years.

One of the “sheets” of ice will provide seating for 1500 spectators. Additional parking is planned for the project, and the district also has a sharing agreement with the business parks nearby: they can park in the THPRD lot during weekdays, and THPRD patrons can park in the business lots on weekends and evenings.

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