The Centre Ice Rink at the Delaware State Fair Grounds in Harrington, Del., announced in late January they would be closing their facilities at the end of the spring 2025 hockey season due to financial concerns. According to a statement put out by the facility, the financial concerns include an immediate need of $500,000 and an additional $1 million in repairs over the next few years, which doesn’t factor in year-to-year maintenance costs.
The Centre Ice Rink hosts several club ice hockey teams, including the SU team. The Sea Gulls make the hour-long commute to Harrington multiple times a week for practices and games.
The SU hockey team will be relocating to the ice rink in Easton, Md. Because of the differing facility hours and having to manage other club hockey teams, many of the practices will start as late as 11 p.m. The new rink also impacts the team's ability to host as many home games as they do in Harrington.
These changes bring worries for members of the SU hockey team, like sophomore defensive player Ryan Davis.
“Next year if the freshmen don’t have cars, I don’t think they’ll be able to practice with us, and we might not have enough room for carpooling since we have to carry our equipment with us now,” says Davis.
The SU hockey team is also grieving the hard work and money they have put into the facility over the years, including freshman defensive player Chase Webber.
“We just got our own locker room there this year, and now that it’s closing, we just put all that money into it for no reason. We even painted the locker room and started building booths in it,” says Webber.
The SU club hockey team will finish its final season at Harrington before the rink closes on May 18th.
________________________
By SAVANNAH TRICE
Staff Writer
Featured image courtesy of Justin Strohm