{"id":82408,"date":"2026-01-09T14:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/82408\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T14:26:13","slug":"new-ice-rink-fitness-center-going-in-at-family-friendly-bethlehem-skating-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/82408\/","title":{"rendered":"New ice rink, fitness center going in at family-friendly Bethlehem skating spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 With business on the rise, Steel Ice Center<\/a>, a regional destination for all things skating, is moving toward a major expansion of its facilities in South Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

The city Planning Commission on Thursday approved land development plans for a 34,000-square-foot addition at 320 E. 1st St.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s set to house what would be the facility\u2019s third 200-by-85-foot ice rink, along with a new fitness center, stretch-and-recovery lab and other amenities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur busiest two weekends of the year are actually the book ends of Musikfest, and we manage all the traffic, manage our lots, and have done that for the last 18 years.”<\/p>\n

Steel Ice Center owner Keith Krem<\/p>\n

Bohler Engineering\u2019s Mary Bachert, speaking on behalf of Steel Ice Center, said project outlook for the 3.59-acre lot just a short ways west of SteelStacks \u201chasn\u2019t substantially changed\u201d since the first planners\u2019 review in October.<\/p>\n

Regarding concern from city traffic officials about how expansion\u2019s operation could affect nearby roadways \u2014 including during annual events such as Musikfest \u2014 Steel Ice Center owner Keith Krem said things should continue business as usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur busiest two weekends of the year are actually the book ends of Musikfest, and we manage all the traffic, manage our lots, and have done that for the last 18 years,\u201d Krem said.<\/p>\n

Krem said the Bethlehem Parking Authority has been responsive on working with the ice center in the case of more parking ever being needed for an extraordinary event on site.<\/p>\n

‘Middle of a really good cultural hotbed’<\/p>\n

Tracy Nelson Wescott, senior associate with project architect firm Highland Associates, said the build will come with energy-efficient HVAC units and \u201cexpansive\u201d windows to help with natural daylighting.<\/p>\n

\"Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Currently offering two professional-sized ice surfaces at 320 1st St., Steel Ice Center of Bethlehem plans for a 34,000-square-foot addition \u2014 which would include the facility\u2019s third ice rink, along with a fitness center, stretch-and-recovery lab and other support facilities.<\/p>\n

The project is set to feature St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network branding; the health system also operates a gym in the current building that\u2019s slated for improvements, too.<\/p>\n

The home of Lehigh Valley Phantoms Youth Hockey and the Lehigh University men\u2019s ice hockey team, Steel Ice Center is north of the former Factory LLC business-incubator facility.<\/p>\n

That site now is set to become a satellite campus of Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.<\/p>\n

The ice center also is near Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts and the 731-space Polk Street Garage.<\/p>\n

Steel Ice Center ownership is \u201cthrilled\u201d to be operating \u201cin the middle of a really good, cultural hotbed,\u201d Krem has said.<\/p>\n

‘I’m excited for this’<\/p>\n

As was the case in October, planners Thursday echoed their support of the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to commend you, again, for coming in prior for a sketch-plan review,\u201d Chairman Robert Melosky said. \u201cIt just kind of helps everything move along much smoother and quicker.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Project officials have reported plans to break ground later this year and finish up construction in 2027, with no effect on current operations expected in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Along with Steel Ice Center, the property is home to Player\u2019s Choice Pro Shop and Steel Pub Sports Bar and Grille.<\/p>\n

The Polar Bears of Special Hockey of the Lehigh Valley and Penguin Figure Skating Club also meet at the ice center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 With business on the rise, Steel Ice Center, a regional destination for all things skating,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,11073,40701,33944,632,41527,41528,41529,41530,41531,635],"class_list":["post-82408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-bethlehem-steel-ice-center","tag-ice-skating-in-bethlehem","tag-keith-krem","tag-lehigh-valley-phantoms-youth-hockey","tag-steel-ice-center-additional-rink","tag-steel-ice-center-expansion-bethlehem","tag-steel-ice-center-new-fitness-center","tag-what-is-being-added-to-the-steel-ice-center","tag-where-to-ice-skate-lehigh-valley","tag-will-oliver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}