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GLENVILLE — The Schenectady County Recreational Facility is set for a $2.5 million upgrade.
The Schenectady County Legislature’s Committee on Public Facilities, Transportation and Infrastructure this week gave initial approval for a series of renovations to the facility, including a 4,660-square-foot addition for new locker rooms and parking lot improvements, using federal coronavirus-relief funding.
Under the proposal, the facility, built at the county airport in 2000, would be renamed the Ray Wemple Memorial Rink, in honor of the longtime vice president of the Schenectady Youth Hockey Association and champion of the rink’s creation. Wemple, a former officer with the Schenectady Police Department, died in 2021.
Lawmakers are expected to approve the spending and renaming at the Legislature’s Feb. 14 meeting.
County Manager Rory Fluman said the renovations are much-needed, noting the facility is outdated and no longer meets the need for the more than a dozen youth recreational, high school and adult hockey teams that utilize the facility.
“To watch a high school team come out of one of these locker rooms — it’s amazing that a whole team fits in one of these rooms, so a lot of these teams are meeting out in the lobby or even outside,” he said.
Currently, the facility has two locker rooms, but plans call for creating three more, bringing the total to five, which will be used to host teams waiting to play games. The fifth locker room would be used by officials or by females playing on male teams, Fluman said.
In addition to increasing the number of locker rooms, plans call for a larger front entrance and expanded restroom facilities, as well as upgrades to the building’s facade that will give the facility a more modern look.
Fluman said the project will see the center hooked up to the sewer system, replacing the outdated leach field currently in use. Parking, a longstanding issue at the rink, will also be expanded to include 30 additional spaces and several electric vehicle charging stations.
“It’s going to be a very good investment,” Fluman said.
If the project is approved by lawmakers next week, the design phase would begin with the goal of having the project out to bid later this year. Construction would begin in summer 2024, necessitating the rink’s closure for a period, Fluman said.
The proposed upgrades would be the latest the county has undertaken in recent years at the ice skating facility. In 2019, the rink was closed for a period to accommodate a $330,000 project focused on upgrading the facility’s chilling mechanisms.
The Recreational Facility has become an increasingly popular attraction, particularly in the years since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the county to close the rink in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. At one point, county officials were considering turning off the ice at the facility, but changed course after learning the move would net little savings.
Last year, the rink saw attendance in excess of 25,000 for open skating sessions, and generated the county approximately $365,000 in revenue. The rink also hosted hundreds of hockey games and learn-to-skate programs and introductory hockey programs.
“Our county ice rink offers affordable entertainment for residents of all ages, and this capital investment will make it a more welcoming space,” Anthony Jasenski, chairman of the Schenectady County Legislature, said in a release. “An updated and spacious building will attract more families and visitors from across the Capital Region and be an asset to our community for years to come.”
Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: [email protected] or by calling 518-395-3120.
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