How to Make Ice (Winter 2007)

Mix a dream and a goal.
Add equal parts of college and community.
Layer in determination and hard work.
Repeat until solid

This may not sound like a typical formula, but it was the recipe for success in creating the SINA/Trinity College Community Sports Complex, the new ice rink and multi-use recreation center in Hartford’s Southside.

Mix a Dream and a Goal
The dream
Hyacinth Yennie was a Hartford hockey mom. After years of driving her high school son to practices in Avon and Glastonbury, she thought “we deserve something like this,” and resolved to see a skating rink in Hartford. The community shared her passion to have positive things right in the city, not just in the suburbs. When Hyacinth worked with Leadership Greater Hartford to put a temporary skating pond in Bushnell Park - the turn out proved this point. The effort was a huge success, but Hyacinth already had her eye on a different, more permanent location: the abandoned Trinity Plaza on New Britain Avenue.

The goal
For Trinity College, the motivation for a hockey rink did not come from one goal, but from thousands. For four decades, the Trinity Hockey teams had been scoring goals in practices and games in rinks throughout the Greater Hartford area, but never their own. The teams, and the college, were more than ready to have a home ice.

Add equal parts of College and Community
With the community’s dream and the college’s goal aligned, the planning for a rink and recreational facility began. SINA, being affiliated with Trinity College (T.C. is one of SINA’s member institutions) and to the community (the Southside community is SINA’s focus), naturally jumped at the opportunity to benefit both by creating a state-of-the-art recreational facility right in the neighborhood. Youth activities have been an ongoing priority for SINA. Over the years, SINA’s partnerships have helped create many outlets and opportunities for youth, including the Boys and Girls Club, Learning Corridor, Boundless Playground, Maria Sanchez Elementary School playground and the CT. Valley Girl Scout Headquarters. SINA was determined that the new Community Sports Complex would offer varied and ample recreational opportunities for kids and adults alike. And the old Trinity Plaza was indeed the perfect location.

Layer in Determination and Hard Work
Repeat until solid
SINA, Trinity College and community members like Hyacinth, worked together to make the Community Sports Complex a reality. In August 2004, the group celebrated the first physical evidence of this reality with the demolition of Trinity Plaza. Two months later, at the end of 2004, the official groundbreaking ceremony further solidified the Complex. Fittingly, the ceremony was attended by special guest Willie O’Ree, who himself broke new ground in 1958 by becoming the first black player in the National Hockey League. O’Ree now serves as the Director of Youth Development for the NHL Diversity Task Force.

In October 2006, after two years of construction, the Complex was complete and the rink ready for its ice - a process that required nearly 15,000 gallons of water applied and frozen in layers. Like the multi-use facility itself, the ice is multi-layered! Once fully frozen, the Trinity College teams wasted no time in testing out their new home ice. Practices in the CSC’s Williams Rink (named after former Trinity player Albert C. Williams) commenced immediately. Shortly after, on November 17, 2006, the Trinity Men’s and Women’s teams both played their first official NCAA Division III games at the Complex. Although the Trinity teams didn’t win, the thrill of playing at home was a victory in and of itself.

Less than a week later, children from the Boys and Girls Club at Trinity College got the chance to lace up skates and take a spin around the rink at the Community Sports Complex. Several members of Trinity's hockey teams helped the novice skaters get the hang of things. This pilot learn-to-skate program is only the first of many community programs that the Complex will offer. To help ensure optimal community access and programming, a Community Advisory Board has been created. With three members from SINA and three from Trinity College, the Committee acts as an important communication conduit between the community and facility.

Community Advisory Board Members
SINA-appointed members
John Rosenthal, SINA
Ginger Erdmann, World Class Skater
Maria Negrón, Aetna Center for Families

Trinity-appointed members
Rick Hazelton, Trinity Athletic Director
John Durham, Trinity Hockey Coach
Alan Sauer, Trinity Director of Business Operations