The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
Proud to be independently owned.

Dave Andreychuk

Street hockey rinks open in Wesley Chapel, Holiday

By

Perhaps someday a future hockey star will be able to say he or she first learned to play hockey on the streets of Wesley Chapel and Holiday.

Pasco County has added to its assorted sports and recreational profile with yet another outdoor activity in check — street hockey.

Two new outdoor street hockey rinks have opened at Wesley Chapel District Park and the J. Ben Harrill Recreation Complex in Holiday. The rinks were created through a public-private partnership between Pasco County and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Tampa Bay Lightning. The rinks are approximately 60 feet by 120 feet, with a full dasher-board system. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

Two public outdoor ball hockey rinks are now available for use at J. Ben Harrill Recreation Complex in Holiday and Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road in Wesley Chapel.

The concrete rinks — approximately 60 feet by 120 feet, with a full dasher-board system — are part of a public-private partnership between the county and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Designed with the idea of growing the game of hockey throughout local communities, the rinks will allow young hockey players in the area a place to train, whether it’s the grass roots level or in organized leagues and tournaments.

A virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony of the rinks was held Dec. 10, with several representatives on hand from both the county and Lightning, respectively.

“We are very proud to open these two rinks today as part of our pledge to build 10 ball hockey rinks across the Tampa Bay area,” Lightning CEO Steve Griggs said. “These two rinks that we opened will give local youth the opportunity to get outside and play the great game of hockey. The Lightning would like to thank Pasco County for their enthusiasm and support in helping us make this a reality for everyone in Pasco County.”

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey tabbed the rinks “just one more wonderful thing that we’re bringing to Pasco County, to give our residents a really high quality of life.”

“This is another unique sport for kids to be involved in and learn all the good, life lessons you learn when you’re a part of a team,” Starkey said. “These rinks are a real value to the county and to the communities we serve.”

She also noted: “When (the Lightning) mentioned that they were going to put one (rink) in, knowing how large our county is and how much need that we have here, I asked them if they’d be kind enough to put in two.”

Count former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk among those “super, super excited” to witness outdoor ball hockey ramping up in Pasco.

“This place will be loaded with kids every night,” said Andreychuk, who serves as the franchise’s vice president of corporate and senior affairs. “As we know, having kids, giving them an activity, something to do, is a great thing.”

The county was responsible for laying out the rink concrete slabs, while the Lightning built out the remainder of the project, including the dasher boards, goal nets and electronic scoreboards. The pro hockey franchise also will be supplying equipment, such as sticks, balls and protective gear.

Lightning community hockey manager Josh Dreith, too, figures the rinks will be a score on both the east and west sides of Pasco: “I love Pasco County. There’s a ton of Lightning fans in Pasco County, and there’s a ton of engaged kids, as well.”

The Holiday and Wesley Chapel locations are part of 10 rinks being funded and constructed in the five-county Tampa Bay area — via a $6 million grassroots hockey development initiative from the Lightning’s Build the Thunder 2.0 and Connect the Thunder programs, and the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund. The other rinks are situated in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Polk counties, respectively.

The rinks in Pasco are available upon request for open play now. There’s hope to have league play begin by March, depending on the COVID-19 situation, officials say.

Programming at the new rinks will eventually include:

  • Clinics run by Lightning alumni
  • Ball hockey leagues
  • Adult ball hockey
  • Ball hockey lessons

All essential equipment for teams playing ball hockey will be provided by the Lightning, including hockey sticks, balls and goalie protective equipment. Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources will manage all programming and maintenance of the rinks.

Keith Wiley, the county’s parks department director, explained: “We’re going to have a combination of free play, obviously open to the public. And then, in coordination with the Lightning, we will be working on actual league play, where we can create some structured programming, depending on (the) season.”

With the partnership, the county contributed property and $240,000 toward the cost of the underlying concrete pads at the two outdoor rinks. From there, the Lightning have built out the remainder of the infrastructure, with dasher boards, scoreboards, penalty boxes, goalie nets, and more.

Engineering design on the rinks began in February. Construction began in August with the county’s portion of the work completed in late October.

Contracting through the Lightning, EnvironBuild LLC finished the dasher boards and scoreboards on Dec. 10.

Some minor improvements do remain, such as sheds, bleachers, and scoreboard electrical connections. Those touches are expected to be complete around March or so.

Published January 06, 2021

Wesley Chapel plays host to disabled hockey festival

By

More than 1,000 athletes representing more than 100 teams from dozens of states recently converged on Wesley Chapel, testing their mettle in the world’s largest indoor disabled ice sporting event.

Two-time Paralympic gold medalist and world champion Brody Roybal, No. 8 on the USA Hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks, is seen during a game with New Hampshire’s NE Passage Wildcats. Roybal, a congenital bilateral amputee, was born without legs. (Christine Holtzman)

AdventHealth Center Ice played host to the 15th annual USA Hockey Disabled Hockey Festival, marking the second straight year the event has called home the multi-rink Wesley Chapel hockey complex.

The festival took place the last weekend in March and first weekend in April.

It featured divisions for players who are wounded military veterans, blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, and for special needs such as Down syndrome and autism. The festival concluded with the adult sled hockey national championship.

In total, 14 programs were crowned champions within the sled and warrior hockey disciplines, including the Chicago Blackhawks Warriors capturing the sled championship title.

Wendy Major, a team leader on the Tampa Bay Lightning USA Hockey sled hockey team, center, gives pointers to 11-year-old Tyler Smith, of Riverview, left, and 12-year-old Christopher Avis, of Wisconsin, during a sled hockey demo on April 6. Major is a disabled U.S. Army veteran facing leg amputation later this year. She was wounded during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The mission of the festival is to provide fun and exciting games, and promote and expand disabled hockey throughout the country.

Meanwhile, the event kicked off with a Friday night welcome social for participants, and a friendly game between the Tampa Bay Lightning Alumni team and the National Standing/Amputee team.

The Lightning Alumni team featured hockey Hall of Famer and 2004 Stanley Cup team captain Dave Andreychuk, alongside other well-known former Bolts players, including Brian Bradley, Jassen Cullimore and Stan Neckar.

Attendees were welcomed to the event by Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore, along with Andreychuk, USA Hockey President Jim Smith and USA Hockey Disabled Section Chair J.J. O’ Connor.

Moore later dropped the festival’s ceremonial puck in front of Andreychuk and David Levesque, captain of the National Standing/Amputee team.

“Pasco County is Florida’s Sports Coast, and we are thrilled to be the first in the state to host the Disabled Hockey Festival,” Moore said at the event. “I am honored to participate in an event that shows anybody can participate and be included. I thank USA Hockey for their commitment to the disabled community and coming to Wesley Chapel.”

Published May 01, 2019

Two-time Paralympic gold medalist Declan Farmer, a sled hockey player for Connecticut’s Gaylord Wolfpack, closes in on the puck during a game with the St. Louis Blues. Farmer, a Tampa native, was born with bilateral congenital limb deficiencies, which resulted in amputation.

Wesley Chapel welcomes ice in new $20M sports complex

By

By the end of next year, State Road 56 will be more crowded than ever.

A new Mercedes dealership. A long-awaited outlet mall and the different stores it will bring. Yet another hotel, this time 120 rooms.

Gordie Zimmermann, from left, is joined by Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and retired Tampa Bay Lightning star Dave Andreychuk last week in a presentation unveiling a new four-pad ice sports complex just off State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. The new arena is expected to open by late next year. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Gordie Zimmermann, from left, is joined by Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and retired Tampa Bay Lightning star Dave Andreychuk last week in a presentation unveiling a new four-pad ice sports complex just off State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. The new arena is expected to open by late next year.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

Not bad for a road that, just a little more than a decade ago, didn’t even exist.

Joining all that, however, is an ice and sports complex so big, it might make existing facilities in Ellenton, Oldsmar and maybe even Brandon a bit jealous.

Apartment developer Gordie Zimmermann and his colleagues Z Mitch LLC, closed on 13 acres of land last week on Cypress Ridge Boulevard for $2.6 million, where they plan to build a 155,500-square-foot ice and sports complex complete with four pads of ice, a restaurant, and room for other sports in the community.

Zimmermann’s development team is investing more than $20 million in the project, all so that Zimmermann’s hockey team — and other teams like it — won’t have to travel so far anymore to find a sheet of ice in Florida.

“I was operating down in the Brandon facility, and I noticed that the adult hockey program had taken over,” Zimmermann said of Ice Sports Forum, a two-pad complex he also owns. “The kids had limited ice time there, and had to drive 60 to 70 miles to an ice practice.”

Zimmermann, in his off-time, coaches the Wiregrass Ice Hawks, a youth team that includes his son, incoming Wiregrass High School junior Luke Zimmermann. The Ice Hawks finished as one of the top youth hockey teams in the state, second only to Mitchell High School.

The long drives and fighting for time on the ice limits the younger Zimmermann’s practice time to just a few days a week. But having a sports complex within walking distance of his Seven Oaks home could actually get him out on the ice much more frequently.

“I’d probably be going there every day,” Luke Zimmermann, a center for the team, said.

Although the facility is tentatively called the Cypress Creek Ice and Sport Complex, Gordie Zimmermann said he’s not opposed to finding a corporate sponsor to buy the naming rights. But even if that happens, it would probably be hard for people not to refer to the facility based on where it is geographically, like Cypress Creek or even Wesley Chapel.

And that’s exactly what Jeff Novotny wanted to hear. Not only is he president of American Consulting, which helped with the Zimmermann project, but he’s also president of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, which has been working tirelessly on branding new development along State Road 56 in the name of Wesley Chapel.

“I can tell you that the Tampa Bay area has a shortage of ice availability for all age levels,” said Novotny, whose American Consulting headquarters is literally next to the site where the ice complex will be built. “I can count on one hand the number of ice arenas in a one-hour drive. And thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning, it is better than what it was 15 years ago.”

The Lightning was represented by Stanley Cup winner Dave Andreychuk who, coincidentally, went to high school with Zimmermann in Hamilton, Ontario. Andreychuk stood behind Zimmermann last week during a news conference where the new facility was unveiled, and lent his support to the facility.

Although there are plans to build a two-pad ice sports complex near The Grove in Wesley Chapel, Zimmermann seemed to dismiss the possibility that the local market could become too saturated with ice.

“I think we’ve done our homework,” he said. “I come from an area that has 200 rinks — eight-plexes and six-plexes, and it’s kind of the way of the world to build a minimum of four.”

The facility will be two stories tall, complete with two National Hockey League-level ice pads, and one meeting Olympic specifications. A fourth smaller ice pad, which can double as a non-ice sports court, could be made available when needed for young kids just getting their start, or even to help goalies learn position playing, Zimmermann said.

A restaurant would be situated on the second floor, with a clear view of all the rinks.

“During tournaments, some people’s children’s games might be an hour or two apart, an they can go up and grab a quick snack,” Zimmermann said. “Others might have six- or seven-hour gaps, and they can go to Wiregrass mall, and maybe to a restaurant.”

Coming right behind it is a planned 120-room hotel expected to close on 3 acres of land this summer, developers said. It would complement offerings already in that area, including an existing Hampton Inn & Suites.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano joined other government leaders at the presentation in endorsing the project, calling the project a crowning achievement to what the county is trying to accomplish in the State Road 56 and Interstate 75 corridor.

“Two rinks would’ve been great, three rinks is phenomenal, but with four, everyone is going to want to come here and play this from all around the world,” Mariano said, highlighting potential interest to travel here from groups outside Florida, and even outside the United States. “If you had to go to Canada or down here to play hockey, where would you want to go?”

Published June 4, 2014

Colonial Four RV park sells for $875,000

By

A former Tampa Bay Lightning player says he is not the new owner of a Zephyrhills recreational vehicle park.

Colonial Four RV, a community located at 6991 Fort King Road, sold Monday for $875,000, according to a release by Marcus & Millichap regional manager Richard D. Matricaria. Geared toward the 55 and older crowd, the park dates back to the 1970s, and has a mix of both seasonal and permanent residents living in 57 rental sites on 5 acres of land.

The sellers, according to county property records, are Bruce and Darlene Flansburg, who originally purchased the park in 2007 for $700,000. The seller, however, is not so apparent.

The real estate brokerage did not release the name of the seller, except to say that it’s a “well-known sports figure looking for a local investment,” Dan Mulkey, Marcus & Millichap’s vice president of investments, said in a release.

Property records show the purchaser to be a company called White Marlin LLC, which was created last March. State corporate records, however, show no managers as part of the company, and only gives a physical address on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa.

One company that uses the same address is Neckar Hockey, a youth sports training company run by former National Hockey League defenseman Stan Neckar, who finished his career with the Lightning in 2004 after the team won the Stanley Cup. He was traded to the Lightning in 2001 in the same deal the hockey team picked up popular goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who now plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Neckar’s website.

Neckar, however, told The Laker late Wednesday that he was not the property buyer, and was unsure why White Marlin is using the same address. Neckar said he did have a business partner, another former hockey player he did not name, but verified with him that he’s not the buyer either.

Neckar, born in the former Czechoslovakia, moved to Tampa permanently in 2006 with his wife and four kids, according to his business website.

Mulkey told The Laker Thursday that at the request of his client, he could not release the name of the sports figure, but did say “it is not who you thought,” regarding Neckar.

The address for White Marlin matches a post office box with a Pak Mail location in New Tampa. One other company that has used the same address in recent years is a New Tampa company called Mobile Cigar Lounge Co., which — according to its website — is a co-owned venture between Neckar and fellow Lightning teammate Dave Andreychuk.

Many of the people who settle at Colonial Four are winter residents from Canada, according to a release. The new owner, whoever it is, has plans to upgrade the community in the near future.

“His plans include bringing in additional permanent units, thereby stabilizing the park’s annual income,” Mulkey said in a release. “I feel confident he will be pleased with this purchase.”

Updated 6/4/2014, 6:30 p.m., to reflect comments from Stan Neckar; updated 6/5/2014, 1 p.m., to reflect comments from Marcus & Millichap and to include information about other recent uses of the business address.

Wesley Chapel hockey rink plans unveiled, hotel close behind

By

Dignitaries, reporters and champion athletes like retired Tampa Bay Lightning winger Dave Andreychuk had come to hear about the new ice hockey complex planned for Cypress Ridge Boulevard in Wesley Chapel. But they also learned about something else as well — another large hotel is coming, and it will be located right next to the new hockey facility.

A new hockey facility will bring a 120-room hotel with it, continuing to make Wesley Chapel near State Road 56 and Interstate 75 a hot spot in the region. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
A new hockey facility will bring a 120-room hotel with it, continuing to make Wesley Chapel near State Road 56 and Interstate 75 a hot spot in the region. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Developer Gordie Zimmermann was mum on who might be looking to build not far from where Hampton Inn & Suites already is, but it’s looking like it’s nearly a done deal.

“We are speaking of the development of the hotel with the owner that (has the land) under contract,” Zimmermann told reporters after a press conference Thursday.

He added that the company wanting to come in has “three or four brands” they could use to name the hotel. But it will be five stories tall, and feature 120 rooms.

The hockey facility itself will be twice the size of a similar complex Zimmermann developed in Brandon, where many local hockey athletes travel to practice and play games. It will cost about $17.4 million to construct it, with the 13 acres of land it will sit on closing Thursday morning for about $2.6 million.

Once construction of the facility gets started, it will take up to nine months to build, Zimmermann said, but it’s expected to open by Fall 2015. It will feature four rinks — one a size that could accommodate the National Hockey League, and two others considered Olympic-sized. A fourth smaller one can also double as a basketball court, according to plans.

What the hockey complex will be called is still anyone’s guess. Renderings of the facility used Cypress Creek in the name, but Zimmermann said he’s open to finding a corporate naming sponsor who would pay to put their name on the facility.

For more about the facility, check out the June 4 print edition of The Laker/Lutz News.

Developers, Andreychuk set to unveil new ice sports facility

By

As the ink dries on sales documents conveying key land to its new owners near Interstate 75 and State Road 56, hockey great Dave Andreychuk and other dignitaries will gather Thursday to unveil plans for a new 150,000-square-foot, four-pad ice and multi-sport facility.

Andreychuk, who won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, is one of several special guests expected to attend the unveiling for media and members of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. A public groundbreaking is expected to take place in August.

The facility will be located just off Cypress Ridge Boulevard in Wesley Chapel, and will be developed by Z Mitch LLC, a company run by Gordie Zimmermann.

Among the dignitaries joining Andreychuk and Zimmermann to launch the project will be retired NBA shooting guard Anthony Parker, as well as retired Tampa Bay Rowdies star Jack Shannon.

The event also will include county commissioners Jack Mariano, Kathryn Starkey, Pat Mulieri, Ted Schrader and Henry Wilson; state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; Wesley Chapel chamber president Jeff Novotny; and hockey team representatives from the University of South Florida, Mitchell High School and Wiregrass Ranch High School.

The facility, tentatively called Ice I-75, is expected to be a boon to the growing area just off Interstate 75, not far from where an outlet mall is scheduled to start construction.

Its development team includes Deborah Tamargo from ROI Commercial Property Brokerage Inc., Skinner Brothers Realty Co., Keith Appenzeller from King Engineering, Michael Slater from Triad Consultants, Mark Jonnatti from Jonnatti Architecture, Jeff Novotny from American Consulting, John Hagen and John Walsh from Pasco County Economic Development Council Inc., and the Pasco Tourism Council.