糖心vlog官方入口

With sports tourism on the rise in Horry County, Steve Elias, with Grand Strand Ice Management, thinks the time is right for an ice skating rink in the Carolina Forest area.

鈥淭here are so many people in that area that grew up with hockey, figure skating, curling, broomball and other sports that need an ice rink and there isn鈥檛 one anywhere near us,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he closest one is in Wilmington.鈥�

Currently, Elias said he needs investors and the support of Horry County Council to help get the ice skating rink off the ground.

鈥淲e also need to find some land to put the rink on,鈥� he said.

Elias estimates the cost of a single-sheet ice rink at $5 million.

Brent Taylor, director of the Horry County Parks & Recreation Department, said an ice rink in Horry County would fit perfectly with the sports tourism plan.

鈥淚 will speak for the department, but not for council, I think it would enhance the quality of life for the people who live here,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e could offer a variety of programs that people now will have to drive a considerable distance to get to.鈥�

Taylor said people will have to show their support to get the ice rink idea gliding forward.

鈥淚t doesn't hurt to let decision-makers know in a positive way how much they enjoy recreation programs and would like to see more opportunities develop,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving an ice rink would allow us to host events and draw people to the county, especially during off season times. The challenge would be providing a balance between community use and tourism-related events.鈥�

Coastal Carolina University could also benefit from the ice rink.

Andrew Kelley, captain of the 25-member CCU Ice Hockey Team, said having a local rink would be great.

鈥淐urrently, our team is having to drive to Wilmington once per week to practice,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we had a rink here, we could practice more often. We would also be able to have people come and watch our games. There are a lot of fans out there, but they can鈥檛 always drive to Wilmington to watch us.鈥�

Kelley said the rink would also benefit the community.

鈥淲e could really grow ice hockey, figure skating and all the sports that need an ice rink if we had one in the area,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he community would really benefit from it.鈥�

Kelley said CCU鈥檚 ice hockey team has been in existence for one year. Before that, they were a roller hockey team.

Kelley said he hopes to get the word out about the rink.

鈥淚f the community said they wanted it, we could make it happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would be great for the younger kids and could really grow at the high school level and the college level.鈥�

On the website, , Elias put up a survey asking people to give input on the proposed ice rink.

鈥淲e have had more than 18,000 responses and almost all of them are in support of the ice rink,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople want to see this here in Horry County.鈥�

Elias started his crusade to get an ice rink in Horry County in 2010, but really kicked it into gear in 2013.

鈥淚 grew up on the ice rink and would love to see one here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have been everything in an ice rink from a Zamboni driver to an ice hockey coach. I have the experience needed to run this place, I just need the help.鈥�

He said at one point he had an investor who had agreed to fund the day-to-day operations of the ice rink, but due to delays in the project, the investor backed out.

Since then, he has put in a lot of time and effort touting his project and buying ads in national hockey magazines to find investors.

鈥淚 know there are a ton of people out there that would love to have an ice rink here in Horry County,鈥� he said. 鈥淐arolina Forest is jokingly known as Yankee Stadium and those people love hockey. We don鈥檛 need people driving to Wilmington just to do something they love. If we had a rink here it would benefit the community and bring in tourism. It would be a win-win.鈥�