Illinois Ice Arena

This past week I explore the Illinois Ice Arena to develop a better understanding of its history, employment, and its impact of recreation and leisure on the community. The staff was very friendly and willing to help me in my exploration. I learned some interesting facts about the facility and increased my knowledge of how a sport management organization functions and provides to the public.

The Illinois Ice Arena was built in 1932 from contributions by private donors through the University of Illinois. The arena was built much larger than it is today for the sport of speed skating. It was shortened in the 1970s to support ice hockey, however its size is larger than an Olympic sized. Teams from out of town would joke about the size of the ice and it developed the nickname “the pond.”

Today the arena offers several staff opportunities for students. A facility assistant fulfills jobs such as cashier, concessions, skate check, cleaning, etc. The customer service assistant manages the staff and office. The Zamboni driver maintains the ice. There are also opportunities for non-students, for example event manager who organizes and handles public skates and ice sports.

Currently, the ice arena is for the most part stable. It has developed a few niches in recent years. Skate rentals now include hockey skates, making skaters more pleased with their rental preference. The café has also experienced some changes. In addition to typical concession items, it provides items such as Pop-Tarts, Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sandwiches, and delicious hot chocolate.

An employee of the Illinois Ice Arena defined its leisure as a gateway to provide the community with many opportunities for ice related sports. It offers leagues to a wide range of ages (youth, college, senior). In addition to playing ice related sports, the venue provides public skates and entertainment.

My experience at the Illinois Ice Arena was very rewarding. As a student, I believe that this facility provides a great opportunity to gain experience in a sport management organization. If one is truly passionate about the ice and enjoys the working in the facility, it could be very enjoyable to work at the arena as an adult; however, I feel that there are limited promotions. The employee I spoke with said that there hasn’t been much change at the ice arena. There has been minimal growth in the past 40 years, due to finances or management. I think this has a good representation on the future of the agency. The Illinois Ice Arena delivers great opportunities for ice related recreation for all ages by providing to the university, with over 40,000 students and faculty, and to the communities of surrounding areas.