Skylands Ice World to skate back into action under new ownership

Hardyston - Sussex County skaters and hockey teams have reason to rejoice: Before autumn hockey season descends on the county, Skylands Ice World in Stockholm will reopen under new management. When it reopens in August, the two-and-a-half year old rink will have been closed for more than a year. Within 18 months of the gala opening of the first Sussex County ice rink in October 2003, the skaters’ dream-come-true on Route 23 had melted like April ice. “The closing was a disaster for ice hockey in Sussex County,” said Vernon High School varsity hockey coach Tony Selimo, whose 80 players were left without a nearby rink. “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.” For months, excited area residents have been swapping hopeful rumors about the rebirth of the rink, which has two National Hockey League-size rinks, and confirmation of the good news has everyone, including Hardyston officials, elated. “I think it is wonderful to see the rink re-open, because not only ice hockey teams but also all the other people young and old who love skating again will be able to skate close to home,” Hardyston mayor Leslie Hamilton said. “We really need it. Hopefully, this time it will be successful. I understand that several hockey teams already have signed on to use the facility.” Hamilton explained that it appeared that the rink was doing well just before it closed, but the owners didn’t have the patience to see it really take off and start drawing big profits. “It was a shame to see the rink close,” Hamilton said. “I understand they had to cancel at least 60 ice skating parties when the rink closed. What’s more, some people who had worked at the ice rink are still unemployed.” In addition, high school hockey teams, some of which had formed specifically because a local rink was available, were forced to travel to distant rinks to continue to play, at considerable cost and hardship. This time, ice hockey professionals will run the rink, Hamilton said, expressing her hope that the new management staff will be knowledgeable enough to run the place efficiently. Jim Wood, a Bergen County resident and former chief executive office of the national A&P and Grand Union supermarket chains, owns Skylands World. After a sudden March 2005 decision to sell the building, Wood placed the 80,000-square-foot building on the market as commercial real estate with a negotiable asking price of $15 million. The listing agent, Brian Lynch, of Commercial Realty Associates in Union, said the owner saw the ice rink as being suitable for a retail facility, a movie theater, or a refrigerated distribution warehouse. But after a number of prospective buyers backed off and after months of being barraged with voice mail messages and impassioned pleas from local hockey players and ice skaters, Wood reportedly said, “To heck with it. I’m reopening it,’” according to his spokesman Cliff Horler. Although the rink will be focused chiefly on ice hockey, skating parties still will be offered, said Hardyston Township Manager Marianne Smith. But the new managers don’t plan to reopen the rink’s restaurant.