Ice World closing leaves local ice hockey programs out in the cold

HARDYSTON-The longevity of Skylands Ice World appears to have been as fragile as that of ice in April. Within 18 months of its gala opening in October 2003, the skaters' dream-come-true has melted, and the ice rink apparently is closed forever. Vernon High School varsity hockey team coach Tony Selimo recalled a time when he had to arise at 4 in the morning to transport his own sons to hockey practice at distant ice rinks and told of his gratitude when Skylands Ice World opened. "The time we could have spent practicing, we spent traveling," Selimo said. "Skylands Ice World was such a nice facility, and the ice was in such great shape. It was beginning to attract skaters and teams from all over the county. "The closing is a disaster for ice hockey in Sussex County," he continued. "The Vernon team had such a successful year in 2004 and early 2005, and we want to build on that momentum. The county is desperate for a new facility. The closure of Skylands has affected the approximately 80 players on Selimo's several teams, as well as other county hockey teams and individual skaters. "We've scheduled this coming season's games at Ice Time on Route 84 in Newburgh, N. Y., and at the ice area in Montclair," the coach said. Selimo and Sussex County businessmen Ray Zimmerman and Tony Catalano have been exploring the possibility of creating a local ice rink by flooding the unused tennis courts at the Legends Resort and capping them with a plastic bubble top, as outdoor swimming pools are often converted into indoor facilities. Selimo's vision sees the unused tennis courts becoming a 17,000-square-foot rink outfitted with portable steel bleachers and transportable locker rooms. "The project is still alive, but for the moment it is on hold," said Selimo. "Financial backing has not yet been forthcoming. We are still going to try to do that, but it is going to take longer than we had hoped." Skylands Ice World is on the market as commercial real estate. The listing agent, Brian Lynch of Commercial Realty Associates in Union, said the asking price for the 80,000-square-foot building is $15 million, but the price is negotiable. The building could be used as a retail facility, a movie theater, or a refrigerated distribution warehouse. "The building already has generated quite a bit of interest," Lynch said. "It's a brand new building coming on the market and waiting for the right buyer." Lynch explained that the owners were unable to operate the facility profitably, because of the limited skating season and local demographics. But Selimo says the building was made to be an ice rink, and he doesn't see how the existing highway access on Route 23 could accommodate the trucking traffic another kind of commercial facility would generate.