Have rink, will play hockey
BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Add in-line hockey to this town's already-long list of recreational opportunities.

Fast play STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER In-line skaters play at the new hockey rink on Sunday, Jan. 13. From left: Rodney Withall of Port Aransas; Brian Vent of Corpus Christi; John Hughes of Aransas Pass; and Todd Jarrell of Portland.

Workers finished about three weeks of construction on a 150-by-80-foot concrete in-line hockey rink at Port Aransas Community Park on Thursday, Jan. 10, said Gary Mysorski, director of the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department. It now is open to the public.

The concrete slab also could double as a place where folks could play with remote-controlled toy cars, Mysorski said. Dances also could be held there, and so could any number of other activities, he said.

Mysorski said residents and visitors should feel free to contact the Parks and Recreation Department at (361) 749-4158 with ideas for other uses for the slab.

The city decided to build the rink after being approached by Doug Frank, who said he would donate to the city a set of heavy-duty plastic walls, known as dasher boards, that surround rinks. Frank lives in Port Aransas and is president and chief executive officer of the Rayz -- the minor-league professional ice hockey team in Corpus Christi.

STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Rink in the pink In-line skaters play on a concrete rink, the newest feature at Port Aransas Community Park, on Sunday, Jan.13. The rink was substantially completed on Jan. 10.

Frank also donated other equipment, including a three-tier set of aluminum bleachers and a pair of hockey goals, both of which have been set up at the hockey rink. And he donated an electronic scoreboard that has not yet been set up at the rink.

Port Aransas City Manager Michael Kovacs said the materials and equipment donated by Frank are worth a total of $50,000 to $75,000, and possibly more.

"I have a soft spot in my heart for Port Aransas," Frank said. "I have a soft spot in my heart for hockey. And I have a soft spot in my heart for young people having diverse recreational activities available to them. ... Skating is a great cardiovascular workout for children and adults."

Frank previously had the dashers out on concrete rinks at facilities he owned on State Highway 361 and, later, on Avenue A. The facilities were open to the public for skating, free. But Frank said he believes the community will be better served by having the equipment at a city park.

"Some might be reticent about coming to a private facility, wondering whether it would cost money, or they would be welcome, even though everyone was welcome," Frank said. The Port Aransas City Council approved a contract with Island Construction of Port Aransas late last year. The firm's quote was for $49,800, which Kovacs described as "a really good price."

Half of the price tag is being paid by the half-cent recreational development sales tax collected at Port Aransas businesses. Money for the other half comes from the city's hotel-motel tax revenue.

The slab was installed over a grassy area and took the place of a piece of playground equipment that was rusted and will not be relocated, Mysorski said.

At press time, the city still was working on getting high, net-like walls -- also donated by Frank -- installed atop the dashers to prevent the hard plastic balls used in in-line hockey from escaping the rink area.

Mysorski said lights might be added in the near future as money becomes available and if there is a demand for use of the rink during the evening.

Kovacs said the city is recommending, but not requiring, that helmets be worn by folks skating at the rink.

The rink already is getting some use. About a dozen hockey enthusiasts played a pick-up game there on Sunday, Jan. 13. Frank was among them. So were three U.S. Navy pilots from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. So was Kovacs, a longtime hockey enthusiast who grew up in Canada, where hockey is hugely popular.

So was Rodney Withall, a Canadian citizen who lives in Port Aransas.

"It was great," said Withall, who works as a marine science researcher at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute. "... It's really nice to see it located at the community park. The (rink's) surface is very smooth and very fast, which is representative of the sport of hockey, a very fast-paced sport."

The rink will be open throughout the same hours as Port Aransas Community Park: Until 9 p.m. daily. No reservations for using the rink are necessary, although that could start happening in the future, Mysorski said.