Ice hockey complex coming to Hammond
The puck is about to drop in Hammond as officials have broken ground on a new $7.5 million ice hockey complex.
Located at the former Hammond FOP site at 2825 J.F. Mahoney Drive in the Hessville neighborhood adjacent to Dowling Park, the 94,000-square-foot indoor facility is expected to open next August.
Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr. said Nov. 7 that the complex fits in well with where the city is going. Tying it in with the new Hammond Sportsplex, he said the facilities will help make Hammond a destination for sporting events and tournaments for families and their athletes from all over the Midwest.
“It’s a great project,” he said.
McDermott said the complex will start off with one rink and then expand to two full-sized sheets of ice.
Flanked by members of the Bishop Noll Hockey Club, McDermott said the facility will help legitimize hockey as a high school sport and that officials from nearby Purdue Northwest University are considering opportunities for them as well.
Bishop Noll hockey coach Rich Sobilo, who will be director of the complex, said the rinks are needed because of limited ice time at facilities in St. John and Oak Lawn, Ill.
“Its demand is immediate, its impact is substantial and its potential is limitless,” Sobilo said. "We believe this project will be a big beacon for the city of Hammond."
Bishop Noll junior and hockey club member Colin Lenzo lives in Highland, only a few minutes away from the new rink.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It will make my life a lot easier playing hockey here.”
The complex is being developed by Ice Kube LLC.
Rob Earnshaw is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.