Cool Project Receives a Warm Reception

Increasing popularity of hockey leagues and figure skating in recent years has made scheduling an ordeal for local ice rinks.

There are only two facilities in the Valley--the Iceoplex in North Hills and Pickwick in Burbank--and both are often open 24 hours on weekends and 15 or more hours on weekdays.

Early next year, however, much of that pressure will be alleviated because a new state-of-the-art rink is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

The arena will be in the 50,000-square-foot building that once housed the Panorama Bowl in Panorama City. The structure has been vacant for nearly a decade, sitting there on Van Nuys Boulevard collecting dust.

But Thursday morning local politicians swung gold sledgehammers at the groundbreaking ceremony for what will be a much-needed recreation facility in the low-income area.

Los Angeles City Councilmen Joel Wachs and Richard Alarcon attended the festivities sponsored by Recreation World, the company which will retrofit and upgrade the building.

The event featured several area youth groups and club roller hockey players from Cal State Northridge. A street course was set up in the parking lot for kids to skate and play hockey games.

“We wanted the community to get a flavor of what’s to come,” said Lisa Sutherland of Recreation World.

Once completed, the center will have a National Hockey League regulation-size ice and roller rink. There will also be a large pro shop, snack bar, party room, lounge, arcade and lockers.

The project will cost $2.5 million.

“Already a lot of local parks and recreation groups have signed up to use it,” Sutherland said. “A lot of youth programs will be available once it’s done.”

The idea to rebuild the Panorama City building was triggered by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Recreation World owns 10 ice skating rinks throughout the country and when its Valley location, Ice Chalet in North Hollywood’s Laurel Plaza, was severely damaged by the tremor, company executives set their eyes on nearby Panorama City.

The company also owns Corbin Bowl Entertainment Center in Tarzana and sales tax revenues from that facility combined with the new one are expected to be about $125,000 over the next five years.

“We found the Valley to be very welcoming so we really wanted to stay in the area,” Sutherland said. “Our old North Hollywood building was beyond repair or we wouldn’t have left.”

Now there’s another local place to house the surge of hockey and figure skaters.

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What better way to enjoy the full moon next week than with an evening hike in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area?

The area spans 46 miles from Griffith Park in the Hollywood Hills to Point Mugu at the Pacific Ocean.

Free, guided hikes are conducted every full moon. Two hikes will be offered on Wednesday.

The first will be at the Franklin Canyon Ranch Site trail beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The second is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Runyan Canyon Park. The top of that trail offers a spectacular view of the Hollywood Hills.

Both hikes are under two miles and take about 45 minutes, but last nearly two hours counting the wait for the moon to appear.

Information: (213) 666-5004.

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The San Fernando Valley Bass Masters are looking for new members, both novice and experienced.

Club meetings are the first Monday of every month in Simi Valley.

Final night of the Night Bass tournament will be Saturday at Castaic Lake. It is hosted by Friends of Castaic Lake, a nonprofit group that enhances fish habitat and improves facilities.

Entry fee is $100 for a two-person team and registration is from 4-7 p.m. at the lake’s west ramp.

Club information: (805) 526-3978. Tournament information: (805) 257-4050.