A group of local investors has formed Valley Ice Lodge LLC, of Spokane Valley, to develop a 68,000-square-foot ice skating facility in Spokane Valley.


The $4.5 million structure, to be located at 19223 E. Appleway, is expected to get under way next month, says John Baldwin, president of Spokane Valley Skating & Hockey Club Inc., a concern formed to manage the rink. Baldwin says Baker Construction & Development Inc., of Spokane, will build the two-story structure.


The facility is to include a National Hockey League size ice rink, a smaller practice rink, a workout room, a club restaurant, a salon and spa, locker rooms, a pro shop, and offices, Baldwin says. He expects that the building, to be constructed on a four-acre site, will open in November.


Baldwin says the full-size hockey rink will be 85 feet by 200 feet in size, or whats commonly called an NHL-size rink. Baldwin says NHL rinks are common for most levels of ice hockey competition in North America, but slightly larger rinks are standard elsewhere. He says the rink will have a 35-foot high ceiling, and will be in the middle of the structure. Just east of the main rink, also on the ground level, will be an 8,250-square-foot section of the building that will house the 50-foot-by-100-foot practice rink and 2,500-square-foot salon and spa, says Baldwin. On the second level of that section will be a 4,500-square-foot workout space, he says.


The ground floor to the west of the main rink will include roughly 5,000 square feet of space for a lobby, pro shop, and offices, and on a second level above that space will be a 3,500-square-foot restaurant, Baldwin says.


He says the portion of the structure where the main rink will be situated also will include locker rooms, with seating built above them for 500 spectators.


Baldwin, who owned an ice rink in Redwood City, Calif., before selling it and returning to the Spokane area, where he graduated from high school, says hes aware that two other ice-rink ventures in the Valley failed in recent years.


Both of those rinks, Ice World and Ice Palace, opened at the same time and competed against each other, he says. Ice hockey and figure skating have grown tremendously around here since then, he says. The U.S. Figure Skating Championships held earlier this year in Spokane drew record attendance, and the Spokane area has continued to support the Spokane Chiefs junior hockey league team well, he adds.


Theres not enough ice time available here, for both recreational skating for the public at established rinks and skating lessons, Baldwin says.


The public will have access to the facility for both recreational skating and lessons, and Valley Ice Lodge will be operated as a club, with members paying annual fees to help generate revenue, he says.


Baldwin says the club plans to develop adult and youth hockey leagues for which teams will be selected by computer according to such criteria as age, skating ability, and times available to compete.


The architect for the structure is Lindquist Architects, of Spokane Valley.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.