Community laces up skates at UBS Arena's The Park

Elmont community members, Islanders’ fans and neighbors of surrounding communities recently laced up their skates and took to the ice at The Park at UBS Arena.

Two new ice rinks opened to the public on Dec. 27 as fans enjoyed The Park’s debut before the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins matchup that evening. Community members tried out the synthetic ice rink of UBS Pond and the authentic ice rink of Northwell Pond.

Phil Connolly, an Islanders’ season ticket-holder from Farmingville, tested the ice at UBS Pond for the first time last Wednesday.

“I’ve never been on this kind of material before, it takes a bit of getting used to,” he said of the synthetic ice rink.

Colin Smith and Mateo Kolody, both 15, of Shirley, took to the ice and enjoyed the new rink.

“I definitely prefer the regular ice, but it’s really nice right next to UBS,” Colin said.

Lindenhurst resident Daryl Cowf and her daughter, Mikaela, 13, said they enjoyed the new pregame venue at Belmont Park. They’ve held season tickets for the past two years and are excited to visit The Park throughout the season.

“People can come early and hang out,” Cowf said. “It gives you something to do.”

John Collins, operational manager for the Islanders, said the project quickly came to fruition, with its conceptual birth happening over the summer. Working collaboratively on the project were the Islanders, Northwell Health, the New York Racing Association and UBS Arena, providing community members with an ice rink to visit at The Park.

“We knew how great and authentic the whole (idea of) pond hockey was, and we thought there was a real opportunity to maybe just bring it to Elmont and bring it to the Belmont Park campus,” Collins said.

The Northwell Pond will host a series of four-on-four pond hockey tournaments following USA hockey guidelines and cater to youth and adult divisions at various competitive levels throughout the winter.

“It could be the equivalent of putting a basketball hoop in every driveway, just making it so much more accessible,” Collins said of the rinks bringing ice hockey closer to the community.

The UBS Pond will be open throughout the Islanders’ season, weather permitting, Collins said. Its synthetic ice, created by Global Synthetic Ice, will allow the rink to stay open longer.

The Northwell Pond will be open through Feb. 25, after the Islanders and Rangers face off during the National Hockey League Stadium Series game on Feb. 18 at MetLife Stadium.

“We wanted to make sure we extended it the week after our Stadium Series game to really hone in on that vacation’s timeframe,” Jocelyne Cummings, the Islanders’ director of amateur hockey development, said.

The community will have access to a variety of events hosted at The Park, from Try Hockey for Free events throughout the Islanders’ season, to Learn to Play and Learn to Skate programs for kids up to 10 years old.

The Learn to Skate program costs $175 and will be held over the course of seven weeks. The Learn to Play program costs $295 and participating kids will get to keep the full set of equipment, including skates. Islanders’ amateur hockey coaching staff will instruct participants in the Learn to Play program.

Collins said he is excited to bring all of those educational programs to the community.

“It’s going to be great for Islanders’ fans, for pregame, and hopefully we’ll have a nice run into the playoffs, and we’ll have watch parties and everything else here, which will be amazing,” Collins said. “But it’s also a way for us to reach deep into the community and just celebrate being good neighbors and the community outreach that our corporate partners really expect us to initiate for them.”

Public skate sessions throughout the week will run for 90 minutes and cost $20. First responders, military personnel and Islanders’ season ticket-holders will receive a 25 percent discount on general admission for public skate tickets. Ice skates will be available to rent for $10.

For more information on programs available at The Park, visit TheParkAtUBSArena.com.