Nearly one year ago, the UNC Ice Hockey Club made a big splash with the announcement of plans to build a rink and arena in Chapel Hill. Since then, the team has gone through a few changes – including the hire of a new head coach and the announcement of moving to a new division with local opponents – but the stadium plan remains on the horizon.
The club, though, is beginning to embark on a major capital campaign alongside an updated timeline of construction for the club’s future home.
The idea for the arena project came out of necessity, as the program finds itself getting squeezed for both practice and home game ice times at the popular Orange County Sportsplex rink in Hillsborough. The facility also has very limited seating, and the team is looking to capitalize on a fan base that continues to grow as the club finds more success. That led the North Carolina Ice Hockey Booster Club, a nonprofit that helps fund the program, to explore other options before striking a deal with the landowners of Carraway Village off Eubanks Road last fall.
When initially announced, the timeline of the project was ambitious and program leaders had already determined several key features for the arena. The building is being designed by Gurlitz Architectural and aims to seat 3,000 fans with infrastructure for television and streaming broadcasts, five locker rooms, and a restaurant area overlooking the rink from a separate section.
But the booster club is still working on an equally critical step: raising the necessary money.
“We’re trying to educate the public on what’s going on,” says Colin Wahl, who is the president of the booster club. “Before you can ask people to step up and donate, they need to understand what it is you’re doing and how it’s going to benefit UNC, hockey, sports [and] the community.”
Since the announcement, some people have misunderstood that the program does not have ties to the Carolina Athletics department. While its players are students, they are not varsity or NCAA athletes, and the ice hockey club — which sees itself as even more removed than other ‘club sports’ on campus — is self-funded and operated by its organizational leaders and boosters instead of university employees.
Wahl, who’s also worked as the general manager for the team for the last six years, spoke with 97.9 The Hill about how UNC Ice Hockey’s boosters have been laying the groundwork for a three-year, $25 million capital campaign project. He began recruiting for people to join a committee to oversee the effort earlier in the summer, as well as gauging interest in major donors. Before long, the campaign will turn to the public to help with their short-term and long-term goals.
The booster club has two deadlines it is trying to meet. The first is completing the land purchase and submitting engineering studies to the Town of Chapel Hill for consideration by May 2025.
“We have a lot of engineering studies on the land: civil engineering, mechanical, structural, water… there’s a lot of work that just needs to be done,” Wahl described. “That, we estimate, is going to be around $1 million to do. But we don’t want to submit that work to the town council for approval unless we buy the land. We need another $500,000 or so to buy the land – so all in all, we need another $1.5 million.”
An aerial graphic of the planned site for the future arena of the North Carolina Ice Hockey Booster Club. Since the facility would be on undeveloped land, there are several studies that must be completed before the project is submitted to the town government. (Photo via the North Carolina Ice Hockey Booster Club.)
From there, Wahl estimates the project’s approval process will take a year and the goal is to start construction as soon as possible afterward. The building will likely need at least two years to be completed, with the general estimation of putting the UNC Ice Hockey team in there before the end of the decade.
Part of getting support for the campaign, however, is describing the booster club’s vision for how else the space will be used. Wahl sees the arena as a “profit-making enterprise” based on the demand for ice time for youth, collegiate and adult hockey leagues. But the booster club president said there are plenty of other things the arena could be used for as well.
“We’re really kind of thinking of this as a community asset that will also benefit UNC,” Wahl described. “[We envision] residents being able to go public skating, maybe enjoying a concert in there, putting on a business conference or events. Adults being able to play ice hockey, figure skating…
“One of the guys that works with the Carolina Hurricanes,” he added, “who runs youth hockey said, ‘If you guys get this built, I’ve got 16 teams that are ready to go [for a youth tournament].’”
In the short term, the UNC Ice Hockey Club is set up well for success even with the limited time on the ice. The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary, it is being coached by a former NHL player, and is scheduled to move up to a new division — all while racking up wins the past few years. A new stadium would help vault the team’s profile and resources, and with that could be possible based on its new timeline and upcoming capital campaign ahead. A more public fundraising effort will be launched this fall, and the booster club will be aggressive in seeking a naming rights sponsor for the future building.
Wahl said, ultimately, he believes the project will move forward if “the enthusiasm of the community” allows it – adding if the will is there, then the money will be raised, and the arena will be built.
“The biggest regret I will have, personally, is if I don’t try it,” he said. “If we try and it and gets delayed and it doesn’t happen, then at least you know you tried it. But I couldn’t put my head down on the pillow, relax, and say ‘Hey, I never tried it. It was too much of an ordeal, it was too large of a project.’
“If not us,” Wahl asked, “who? Let’s go for it, see what happens.”
Featured photo via Gurlitz Architectural Group / UNC Ice Hockey Club.
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