The foundation raising money for a Palm Beach Gardens says it has raised $10 million from a single donor, surpassing a $6.5 million threshold required under its lease with the city for the 8.5-acre Plant Drive Park.
The submitted documents before an Oct. 3 deadline showing a pledge of $10 million from hedge fund manager Larry Robbins, foundation President Mike Winter said. Robbins is a youth hockey supporter who owns a home in the city and whose Longwood Hockey recently became of .
Winter expects to have enough money by June 2025 to obtain financing to begin building the $40 million complex, as required in the 40-year lease with the city.
Plans for the 123,000-square-foot building, which will hold two National Hockey League-size ice rinks for youth hockey, figure skating, public skating, adult leagues, curling and sled hockey, are expected to go before the city’s planning board in November and the City Council in December.
“It will be the nicest rink in the southern United States,” said Winter, who created the nonprofit foundation in 2017 to pursue the project as a community asset, reminiscent of the ice rink his father helped operate in the St. Louis suburb of .
“When I see people say investors, developers, I’m not an investor, I’m a donor. Somebody did this for me when I was a kid. I’m trying to pass this forward.”
The facility will feature a full-service restaurant, a store, training space and an academy with support from the New York-based , which has offices in West Palm Beach and Wellington, the foundation said in a press release.
It will have “the capacity to host regional, national, and international events that will bring a significant economic impact to Palm Beach Gardens,” the press release said.
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has committed to operate a , which he founded in 2014 with his son, Ty Gretzky. They both have homes in the area.
Another supporter is insurance broker NFP, which has offices on PGA Boulevard. The company pledged $1.25 million in June 2022 and supported initiating a hockey program created by hockey Hall-of-Famer Pat LaFontaine.
, of Glenview Capital Management, is a former owner of the Chicago Steel, a junior hockey team. He is a former player and captain at the University of Pennsylvania and an 18-year youth coach at the North Jersey Avalanche. In February, he bought a home in Gardens’ Old Palm Golf Club community.
as among the 1,700 richest people in the world, with $2.2 billion in assets.
“A group of volunteers have brought the greatest hockey player in the history of the game to Palm Beach Gardens. And the biggest philanthropist in youth hockey is donating to Palm Beach Gardens,” Winter said. “I hope people champion this project. It should be something to celebrate, not to fight.”
The project who object to the conversion of the city’s oldest park in a residential area behind Palm Beach Gardens High School off of Holly Drive.
The complex would eliminate a free skatepark, a basketball court and a fenced-off high school softball field. The city shut down pickleball courts at the park last year and called the park “a marginal recreational facility (that) attracts malcontents who engage in illegal activities.”
skatepark fans and neighbors joined to oppose the project, arguing it will bring too much traffic to an already congested area.
“While the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation’s initiative to build an ice skating facility may seem appealing, especially the increased job opportunities, it is important to consider the negative implications for the surrounding residential community,” said Heather Deitchman, one of the self-styled “malcontents” opposing the project.
“The chosen location is far from ideal, as it could disrupt the tranquility of the area,” she wrote in an email to Stet. “The anticipated increase in traffic from ‘local, national, and international tournaments’ would be unwelcome by neighbors who value their peace and quiet and do not want increased traffic in an area already struggling to handle the load of traffic of nearby schools.”
This story was originally published by , a WLRN News partner.
