An outdoor hockey facility in Hoboken will be getting refurbished at no cost to the taxpayer as an NHL team has donated funding to revitalize a rink and create new recreation programs.
During their March 20 meeting, Hoboken’s City Council unanimously approved a resolution that will overhaul the hockey facility behind the Multi Service Center. The rink, situated at the intersection of 2nd and Adams streets, also functions as a flexible space and includes basketball hoops.
Per wording in the resolution, the NHL’s New Jersey Devils will spend up to $230,000 for improvements to the rink. Scheduled work includes removal and disposal of the old boarding system, patching and leveling of the rink surface, and installation of dasher board curb footing, a new dasher board system, and new rink flooring.
Per renderings attached to the resolution, the Devils would place their branding on the rink as part of the deal and the donation includes funding towards the acquisition of new ball hockey equipment. The team would be footing the entire bill for the work, with Hoboken incurring no costs.
Besides the overhaul of the rink itself, the Devils will be spending up to $10,000 to engage part-time coaches and staff to “provide certain assistance to the City’s Division of Recreation in developing programming at the rink for ball hockey clinics and game play for children and adult residents.”
The resolution does not state when exactly work on the rink will begin. Hoboken has publicly advocated for replacing its Multi Service complex where the rink sits with a modern facility that includes a pool.
However, there have been no notable developments on that proposal since the plan emerged last June. Current Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who spearheaded those plans, will be running for the 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in June and could potentially leave office next year if he wins a seat in Congress.
