Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 6, Issue 12, December 2002

Copyright 2002 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.

Inline hockey rolls into Sand Point

By LEAH WEATHERSBY

After a two-year absence, inline hockey is back in North Seattle.

Over 500 kids and adults per season once played inline hockey a game much like ice hockey but on inline roller skates at a rink at Sand Point Magnuson Park. The rink was operated in various former Sand Point Naval Station hangar buildings by Arena Sports from 1999 to 2000. The company also runs fields and leagues for a number of sports in four other locations including: South Seattle, Tacoma, Redmond and Langley, British Columbia.

However, two years ago Arena Sports lost its lease on one of its Sand Point buildings. They could only keep one program going in the park soccer or hockey. Hockey lost.

Now, Arena has secured a new lease on a second building at the park, which will keep the rink to stay open, at least through April, 2003.

"We've got a pretty nice home and we hope to keep (the rink) there for a long time," said Don Crowe, chief executive officer of Arena Sports.

According to Eric Friedli, director of Sand Point Magnuson, the City's Parks Department tries to balance uses such as arts, sports and environmental stewardship giving everyone equal time and space. When Arena lost its lease, he said, several theater groups were interested in using the hangar buildings and the filming of "Rose Red," the made-for-TV Stephen King miniseries also took up space at the park.

Since the closure, Friedli said, Arena had often sought to reopen the rink. Now with fewer demands on the former hangar buildings, he thinks there's a good chance Arena's lease will be renewed next spring.

Currently, Arena plans to run three 20-game hockey seasons as well as tournaments and classes for kids and adults. There are also drop-in hockey sessions for adults on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at noon.

Some dedicated Seattleites have made the trek to Redmond, the next closest inline roller hockey rink, to play.

"I wasn't happy about the drive, but I just love playing," said Greenwood resident Roger DiFillipo, an avid inline hockey player, as he waited to get into a recent pick-up game at Sand Point.

However Matt Booth, facilities manager for Arena Sports and an avid inline hockey player himself, still laments the decision to close the old Sand Point rink.

"When we moved we lost a large client base," Booth said. "It's really difficult (for new sports) to find a niche in this market."

Even though he's gotten five to 10 calls a week from players mostly men glad to hear about the new Sand Point rink that was completed in October, Booth knows it's going to be a challenge even to build the program up to 30 teams this year. That compares to about 100 teams playing hockey at Sand Point through Arena Sports before the move.

Seattle lags in inline hockey:

A former semi-professional ice hockey player, Booth, now 35, picked up his hockey stick at age three. But he knows that right now there are 14-year-olds in California who, when they strap on inline roller skates, can kick his butt.

Unlike in California and other warm states where open air rinks are common, Washington has few facilities for inline hockey. That's why, Booth said, players in other states get better faster.

Even long-time ice hockey players are at a disadvantage, Booth said, because inline hockey relies less on checking (otherwise known as brute force) to get control of the puck, and more on speed and skill therefore a lifetime inline hockey player may be more advanced than those who play on ice.

While inline hockey may not be as well-known as it's icy counterpart, Booth said it's growing in popularity so much he wouldn't be surprised to see a professional league emerge in the next 20 years.

For details, call Arena Sports at 985-8990.