Serving the communities of
Winnetka, Glencoe, Kenilworth, and Northfield

   Home  |  House League  |  Youth Travel  |  Girls Travel  |  Forms Library  |  Contact Us  |   Login

 
Winnetka Hockey Club
P.O. Box  426
Winnetka, Illinois 60093

Telephone – (847) 446-9362 
Fax – (847) 920-9423

May 8, 2007 

Dear WHC Families:

 As many of you may know, the Winnetka Hockey Club, in partnership with the New Trier Hockey Club and the Wilmette Hockey Association, is working to raise the necessary funds to build a new hockey rink facility in Northbrook near the intersection of Waukegan Road and Willow Road.  I wanted to take this opportunity to provide our families some background and context regarding our efforts to make this new facility a reality.

 The WHC serves the needs of over 600 boys and girls from ages four through fifteen in three different and vibrant programs – our house league program, our girls travel program and our youth travel program.  These 600 plus boys and girls come from over 400 families, almost exclusively from the communities of Glencoe, Kenilworth, Northfield, and Winnetka.  In fact, we are one of the very few Northern Illinois Hockey League member organizations which are identified by our community name and remain a community based hockey program.

 The program is both financially strong and growing in size.  Over the past two seasons our mite enrollment has risen over 15% and our girls’ hockey program reflects the fact that girls hockey is the single fastest growing sport for females in the United States.  We have a top notch professional staff with decades of combined experience in leading a youth program and we have a dedicated and committed group of volunteer parents who serve on our board, manage our travel teams and coach our house league teams.

 The future for Winnetka hockey is very bright indeed…except for one significant challenge … available ice time and locations.  As our travel families know all too well, and as many of our house families understand, in order to meet the ice needs of our program, it is necessary for the WHC to purchase a great amount of “home” ice at facilities in Lake Forest, Buffalo Grove, Glencoe, Winnetka, Skokie and Lincolnwood.  Not only is this a burden on our families, but the club does not control access to this non-Winnetka ice beyond year to year contracts and we have no control or leverage over the price we must pay to purchase this ice. 

So while the program will once again be able to purchase “home” ice during the 2007-08 season at these other facilities to meet the needs of our travel teams, we have been exploring multiple options over the last twelve to eighteen months to solve our future ice needs so our program can continue to grow and prosper. 

The Winnetka Hockey Club, along with the New Trier Hockey Club and the Wilmette Hockey Association, worked very closely with the Wilmette Park District during much of 2006 on a proposal to build another sheet of ice at the current Wilmette Centennial property on Old Glenview Road.  This plan entailed raising about $11 million in private donations or gifts, and while we were very excited about the plans for the new rink, and while we had an excellent working relationship with the Wilmette Park District, we were ultimately unsuccessful in raising the necessary private funds. 

However during the second half of 2006 an opportunity to potentially build a single sheet ice rink financed with a combination of private donations and a bond offering approved through the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) started to take shape.  The facility we are currently trying to build is near the intersection of Waukegan Road and Willow Road and will cost between $7 million and $8 million to build, and we have received initial approval from the IFA to issue as much as $5.5 million in debt.  However, of course, the more money we raise in private donations, the less interest we must pay and the less debt we must retire.  To this end, we have set a goal of raising a minimum of $3 million in private donations toward the $7 million to $8 million we will need to build the new facility. 

Assuming we are able to raise the private donations and issue the necessary debt, we would then have total control of the facility.  And once the bondholders are repaid, we will effectively own the facility.  (The land will actually be leased from the Society of the Devine Word for up to 99 years – or some time frame equal to the life expectancy of the building.)  This arrangement will allow us to control both our access to ice time and the price we pay for the ice – two variables we currently do not control. 

The construction of the rink is very close to reality.  We are actively fundraising for significant donor contributions.  We have dollars in hand as well as committed pledges to get us well along the way.  The 3 boards of directors have approved expenditures for preliminary design, pro forma financial projections and site soil surveys.  The IFA has granted us preliminary approval to issue bonds to fund the construction.  With the initial fundraising in hand, we hope to have drawings prepared, construction permits applied for and construction begun by mid summer 2007.  Our expectation is to be skating at this new facility no later than September of 2008. 

To be clear, there is no plan to leave the Winnetka Park District’s facility.  We would continue to skate out of the facility at the Winnetka Playfields.  But we would have two true home rinks – one in Winnetka owned by the park district and one in Northbrook owned by our club in conjunction with the New Trier and Wilmette clubs. 

Also, there are no plans to merge with any other club.  This new facility would only make our club stronger and more vibrant.  It is our belief, and it is a belief is shared by the Wilmette Hockey Association, that this facility will provide more opportunity for both clubs and, therefore, benefit all the boys and girls playing hockey in our immediate communities.  And, lastly, by building the new facility we are not looking to raid other surrounding programs in places like Northbrook or Glenview.  We respect these other clubs and only want to build this new facility to help grow and protect our programs for the future. 

The Winnetka Hockey Club is extremely grateful for the continued generosity of our families.  Our members have always been giving of their time, energy and their money to make our program successful.  As we continue to work to make this new rink a reality, please remember we are working to raise about $3 million dollars in private gifts and donations.  Any help in meeting this goal would be sincerely appreciated.  Also, please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss this project in greater detail or if you would like to volunteer your time and efforts toward making this rink a reality.  I can be reached at david.brower@wachovia.com or at 847 446 4311.  We have an outstanding community based program with a great group of families and our future is extremely bright.  If we are successful and we are able to build the new rink, our future will only be brighter and more secure. 

 Sincerely, 

David Brower
President, Winnetka Hockey Club

Online Donations  |  Printable Donation Card