DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Cornerstone Community Center broke ground Wednesday on an expansion that will add a fourth ice rink, among other new amenities.
The $22 million project includes a 3,000-seat arena, which will be located directly south of the current St. Norbert College men’s home ice sheet. It will be used for tournaments and by the SNC men’s and women’s hockey teams. Officials expect the rink to open in fall 2025.
As part of the expansion, the Green Knights hockey programs will also have dedicated lockerrooms and space for athletic training, coaches and support staff.
SNC has privately fundraised nearly $1.7 million for its part of the rink addition. The project is also utilizing dollars raised by the CCC.Cornerstone Director Don Chilson told FOX 11 in mid-July about $16 million had been accrued already, in total.
The project received a $1 million grant from Brown County earlier this year, as well as $200,000 from the Green Bay Packers Foundation. The facility is seeking other donors, including building naming rights, Chilson said.
The hope is Cornerstone’s expansion will increase the amount of teams it hosts by 25% each year, make it a regular destination for national hockey tournaments and perhaps even lure the state WIAA hockey tournament away from a 2,600-seat arena in Middleton.
“It’s an absolute privilege to stand before you and celebrate the beginning of this state-of-the-art facility, which is going to offer so much to the community,” said Stephanie Dutkowski, a CCC board member and former president of the Green Bay Area Youth Hockey Association.
“This new ice arena is going to not only expand our programming to include more youth sporting events, but it will also include nonprofit activities, collegiate ice sports, figure skating, speed skating, public open skating, men’s and women’s leagues, and it’s also going to play a vital role in the tourism to the greater Green Bay area and supporting the local economy,” Dutkowski continued.
SNC’s men’s program moved into its current facility in fall 2000. The women’s program has been based out of the Resch Olympic Pavilion since fall 2010.
Officials say St. Norbert’s ACHA men’s hockey program will begin play in fall 2025, and that program will take over the current women’s hockey team locker room space at the Resch Olympic Pavilion. The ACHA team will also play in the new rink, as scheduling allows.
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