WILMINGTON — One local nonprofit is beginning its campaign for a new facility to host a new professional sports team in Wilmington. A fundraiser this weekend will help pay for a feasibility study to assess its viability.
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Launched last summer, the Wilmington Arena Project is now gearing up for its first fundraising push to open an ice hockey facility. Leading the charge is Mike Vollmin, Ogden native and ice hockey pro player. His vision is a 10,000-seat arena with two rinks and sports court to bring in an ice hockey team in the National Hockey League’s third-tier, the ECHL.
“Wilmington is such a diverse community, everybody’s moving down here — from the north, from everywhere — and there’s an undertone of hockey culture, for sure,” Vollmin said. “The Carolina Hurricanes, they sold out every single game of their regular season.”
Ice hockey has seen a surge of Southern interest in recent years, with three of the last Stanley Cup winners being Southern teams. Following population shifts to Southern cities, particularly by Northern transplants, teams formed like the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, who became a team after the struggling Hartford Whalers relocated to North Carolina’s capital. The Hurricanes have taken home one Stanley Cup, in 2006.
Vollmin is leading the charge for a local arena to come to town, while also preparing for a new season in the Swiss League, the second division of Switzerland’s professional ice hockey league. Vollmin grew up in the Ogden area before moving to New England to start his ice hockey career.
He told Port City Daily Friday he was driven to give back to the community he grew up in. The entire venture, including the land needed to build it, is estimated between $100 to $150 million. Vollmin said they have acreage in mind on the outskirts of town on U.S. Highway I-40.
“You’re getting all the Leland traffic, Jacksonville traffic, in Wilmington it’s easy to just pop out and then it’s not going to congest the city,” Vollmin said.
Though the actual square footage of the facility is yet to be determined, but plans include a practice rink, available for figure and public skating, as well as potential use by the Coastal Carolina Curling Team. There will be an indoor sport court used for soccer or volleyball. Vollmin’s vision is to offer after-school programming and summer camps as well.
“We kind of came to the conclusion that making it a nonprofit organization is the best way to go because, in the end, it’s all it’s all about the kids,” Vollmin said. “Really, the kids need something to keep them out of trouble; the kids need to see a vision of professional sports.”
The Wilmington Arena Project is also exploring a place to host concerts for some “big names,” Vollmin said.
The Wilmington Arena Project will rely on donors to reach the hundred-million-dollar price tag; all donors will be offered exclusive sponsorships or deals within the arena, such as concessions. Their donations also would be tax deductible, per the Wilmington Arena Project’s nonprofit status.
Vollmin said they have some soft interest, though a feasibility study is needed to solidify interested donors and future committments. The project is looking to fundraise $55,000 to fund the study, a goal it’s hoping to reach at its Saturday fundraising event.
Starting at 4 p.m. at Waterman’s Brewing, the fundraiser will feature live music and a guest appearance from former NHL player Torrey Mitchell — who played for several NHL teams, including the San Jose Sharks. Local businesses have provided $3,000 in raffle prizes, including the local ice-skating rink in Ogden, Wilmington Ice House.
The Wilmington Ice House has long served as the community’s only ice rink and home to the UNCW Club Hockey team. Vollmin said the rink is only profitable after 250 ticket sales, but only accommodates 450 people max, leaving no room to scale up for a professional team looking to pay its ice rink rent and remain profitable. With only one rink, The Ice House also can only accommodate a fixed number of sports.
The Wilmington Arena Project has also received support from the Carolina Hurricanes and the second-tier Charlotte Checkers. Wilmington’s team wouldn’t compete with either through its place in the East Coast Hockey League.
However, space would need to open up in the league for a Wilmington team to be added. There are 32 teams in the NHL. Each one has a subsequent second- and third-tier team, each feeding to the tier above..
Vollmin said there are various options for securing a professional team. One is for the NHL to expand, which would allow for second- and third-tier divisions to add feeder teams as well. The NHL has not confirmed its plans to add to its roster, though Vernon Krause, CEO of Krause Sports & Entertainment, announced plans for a 18,500-seat, $3-billion multi-use entertainment complex in Atlanta to include an NHL offering. This could open up affiliation for the third-tier team in Wilmington.
Another option is to solicit a relocation from a team currently in the league. Vollmin mentioned the recently formed Greenville Swamp Rabbits in South Carolina, though other nearby teams include the Greensboro Gargoyles, South Carolina Stingrays and Savannah Ghost Pirates.
“I mean, who wouldn’t want to relocate here?” Vollmin said.
If neither option turns out, though, Vollmin said the arena could also be used by a team in the fourth-tier, the Southern Professional Hockey League, to which the Fayetteville Marksmen belong.
Vollmin is also open to forming a partnership with UNCW’s club team, pointing out the potential Trask arena upgrade or replacement doesn’t include ice hockey. In contrast, UNC Chapel-Hill’s club team is getting a new 3,000-seat rink, the $25-million capital campaign announced last fall. Vollmin said UNCW’s ice hockey coach, Rich Brouwer, assisted in developing the Wilmington Arena Project, and hopes to discuss with Athletic Director Michael Oblinger as well.
After Saturday’s fundraiser, Vollmin said the plan was to get the feasibility study underway, which would take two to three months to complete. From there, land purchases could be explored and donors secured before plans are created for the arena itself. Vollmin said he has the advantage of learning about the process now, as his Swiss team has a $420 million arena project underway now.
“It’s like stars aligning,” Vollmin said.
[Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article used the name East Coast Hockey League, though this name is no longer in use and the league now goes by ECHL. PCD regrets the error.]
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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