Ice arena still in the works for Mission Valley

Several years ago a group of Mission Valley locals put a plan into action to bring an ice arena to Polson.

They formed the Mission Valley Ice Arena Association and fundraising commenced. Now, six-plus years later, this collection of ice sport enthusiasts are still in pursuit of bringing about the rink. Hilary Lozar, one of the original curators for this idea, and the association’s board of directors are relentlessly pushing forward despite hiccups in the plan.

Lozar explained that a developer donated a plot of land near the aquatics center in Polson for the prospective ice arena. However, shortly after securing the building site, the board of directors and the developer all discovered that there was an issue with the sewer permits available at that location.

This issue has slowed the progress on the arena to a frustrating pace.

“What we can say is that we continue to make progress,” Lozar said. “It’s slower than we’d all like to see, but we are not going to give up on it. We are going to push through and find a resolution one way or another.”

Lozar said there are a few options to resolve this issue, but the developer is not getting back to her inquiries about which route to take. If they can form a plan by either shifting existing permits or building a new sewer system for the ice arena specifically, then Polson’s ice rink will be in the very final funding stage with breaking ground in sight.

“We can’t ask for big donations with a good conscious if we can’t tell people right now where we will build for sure, so we’re sort of stalled right now,” Lozar said. “But we’re so close to having the money we need to build. We can almost taste it, but we can’t make that last step to finalize our fundraising efforts.

“It’s a very frustrating position to be stuck in,” she added.

In the meantime the association is planning on keeping smaller fundraising efforts going, including the current Yeti cooler and Flathead Lake Brewery prize package raffle. Lozar wants to keep up awareness for the ice arena while they are dealing with the stalled building situation.

“Just trying to make sure people know we’re still going, we’re still moving forward,” Lozar said. “We’re just changing our focus for a short time to finalizing some of these issues up there at the land then we can really get our wheels rolling for that last push towards our target.”

With this winter being one of the warmest on record, Lozar said pond skating in the region has been nearly non-existent due to the inconsistencies of the ice. The unseasonably warm temperatures showcase the exact need for the arena.

Lozar is anticipating the Mission Valley Ice Arena bringing a lot of people to Polson and boosting the economy. The rinks in the surrounding areas of Whitefish, Kalispell and Missoula are always packed, and Lozar said she anticipates the same for Mission Valley.

“We are quite confident that its going to bring a major dose of economic stimulus to the valley in a time where most businesses are operating on thinner staff, shorter hours just because they can’t afford to stay open,” Lozar said.

In addition the association wants to introduce the community feel that comes with ice sports. Since Lozar picked up hockey about 10 years ago with some co-workers, she cannot imagine her life with out it.

She currently travels to Missoula to play in a hockey league and said picking up this sport has expanded friendships to the point of feeling like actual family.

“It’s just become a huge part of our life that I can’t imagine now living without,” Lozar said. “Through hockey we’ve met some really interesting and wonderful people that care very deeply about the community aspect of the sport, which is highly attractive as we’re building this rink.”

Bringing the community of Polson great ice sport recreation opportunities as well as boosting the towns economy are the ideas that originally spurred the formation of the Mission Valley Ice Arena Association, and Lozar said one way or another they will make this rink come to fruition.

Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@dailyinterlake.com