Richmond Ice Box features an NHL-sized rink as well as 350 spectator seats and other features. The indoor ice hockey venue has plans to eventually further expand with a second ice sheet. (Jack Jacobs photo)
The puck has dropped at Richmond Ice Box.
The newly built, 49,000-square-foot ice hockey venue was slated to open today (Monday) at 13100 Tredegar Lake Parkway in Chesterfield.
Richmond Ice Box features an NHL-sized rink, 350 spectator seats and six locker rooms in addition to other features. A pro shop is expected to open later this month at the facility, which is near River City Sportsplex in the county’s Brandermill area.
The venue will host youth and adult hockey programs and clinics, as well as figure skating and youth hockey tournaments. It also offers public skating and rentable skates.
The facility is operated by Chesterfield Sports Enterprises, an entity tied to local hockey booster Fred Festa, who also owns Powhatan Ice Den.
Ryan Winfree, president of the Ice Box and Ice Den, said the Chesterfield venue is intended to build on the momentum that’s taken place at the smaller Powhatan rink since it opened in 2021.
“With Powhatan Ice Den, we saw huge demand. … So we worked over the last couple years building our women’s program. We launched the 8U girls team last year, which was a huge success and then we’ve also done a 6U program. We were doing a lot of things that weren’t being done in this market to expand youth hockey in the region,” Winfree said.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth at the younger ages … which is why we spent a couple years designing this building and thinking about it and taking our time making sure it was the right move.”
Winfree described the Ice Box as a “multimillion-dollar” project, and said the venture was privately funded by Festa.
EDC is the project’s general contractor and the engineer is Balzer and Associates. Minneapolis-based JLG is the project’s architecture firm. Wisconsin-based B32 Engineering Group designed the venue’s ice sheet.
Richmond Ice Box anticipates expanding in the future. The facility is ultimately planned to feature two professional-level ice rinks and 700 spectator seats in a 90,000-square-foot space. There isn’t a specific timeline on achieving full buildout, but it is expected to take 12 months to complete the project’s second phase once it begins.
“Phase two is already designed, but we’re going to gauge the market and demand before we pull the trigger,” Winfree said.
The venue’s first ice sheet is named the OrthoVirginia Arena, as part of a multi-year sponsorship deal between Richmond Ice Box and the locally based orthopedic provider. The medical practice pays an annual fee to the venue for the naming rights.
“From young kids taking their first steps on the ice to adults staying active in recreational leagues, our partnership with Richmond Ice Box helps provide the community with a state-of-the-art facility to safely enjoy ice sports activities,” Dr. Michael Wind of OrthoVirginia said in a prepared statement.
There are naming rights still available for the overall facility and its future second ice rink. Winfree said the arrangements were helpful in offsetting the high costs that come with running an ice hockey venue.
“Hockey is one of the most expensive sports, so these types of community partnerships really help keep costs down for everybody,” Winfree said. “Energy is one of the highest expenses. It takes a lot of skilled employees, so that’s also a pretty high-level expense. We have multiple certified ice technicians here.”
There are 10 full-time employees between Richmond Ice Box and Powhatan Ice Den.
Another goal of Richmond Ice Box is to set the stage for a professional ice hockey team to come to the Richmond region, which has been home to minor league pro teams in the past, such as the Richmond Renegades. The Ice Box would be suitable as a practice facility for such a team, though games would require a large arena.
Festa’s group had considered the project formerly known as GreenCity in Henrico, which was planned to feature an arena as part of a large mixed-use development, the best opportunity for an appropriate venue to be built in the region. But a developer for that project, now being referred to as Best Products Reimagined, has yet to be announced.
Winfree said his group remained interested in seeing an ice hockey arena take shape in the region. Though not currently involved in any formal plan to make an arena a reality, they are open to discussing such a project.
“If Henrico or whoever, if any developers are interested in talking, we’re open to that,” Winfree said.
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