From a lined pond with a warming shed in 1981 to an enclosed, refrigerated rink completed in November 2008
Hockey began in Gunnison in 1981 with a lined pond with dirt banks and a small heated shed. Dasher boards came in 1986, and in 1994 Elmira College donated a set of boards and glass, installed for the 1995 season. In 1997 a concrete slab was poured for the primary rink, with a curb that allowed roller hockey in summer.
A non-profit group, Shade for Blades, raised the money to put a roof over the rink in 2001, extending the season by five weeks. In 2002 a donated log home was renovated into four locker rooms and a referee's room.
A group formed in April 2007 won voter approval, at 67 percent, for a 1 percent sales tax increase to pay for an enclosed, refrigerated hockey facility; ground was broken on April 17, 2008 and the project was completed on November 8, 2008. In 2014 the Gunnison and Crested Butte youth programs joined as the West Elk Hockey Association, the West Elk Wolverines, and about 200 youth and 200 adults take part.
Admission, rentals and arrival details, researched from official rink information. Source checks stay current for 30 days.
Indoor public skating is $9 for adults 16 and over and $6 for youth 6 to 15, and children 5 and under skate free; season passes are $90 adult, $65 youth and $125 family. The outdoor covered rink and pond are free when open.
Source checked · · Official source
Rental skates are $6 for adults and for youth; a sharpening is $9 with 24-hour turnaround or $12 the same day.
Source checked · · Official source
Open hockey requires helmet and gloves with full gear recommended; stick and puck sessions require helmet and gloves, are family friendly and allow no games.
Source checked · · Official source
A source check records what the rink published on that date. Session-specific booking details take precedence.