This article was originally published in the Anchorage Daily News. Read the full article here.
By Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News
Last month, the University of Alaska Anchorage hockey team wrapped up its most successful season in a decade.
The Seawolves posted a 15-17-2 record, knocking off a number of ranked teams during the course of the season.
Now, the team that in 2021 saved itself from elimination by the University of Alaska Board of Regents is looking for some new digs.
Officials from UAA and the Seawolf 5th Line, a hockey booster organization, say they are moving forward with developing a plan to renovate and expand the Avis Alaska Sports Complex.
The plans are still in a very preliminary stage, according to Ryan Buchholdt, UAA’s vice chancellor for administrative services. But while the process is still in the early going, he said there’s a very clear vision for the size and type of facility along with the user groups that could benefit from it.
“Our goal is to have a full (Division I) facility with as much as 3,000 seats on the campus so that the community is coming to the campus to attend our games,” Buchholdt said. “We think it can be a focal point for hosting youth leagues as well as other intramural hockey community games here on the campus. Much like the Alaska Airlines Center is able to do for court sports, we envision a facility that can really start to meet that need for the hockey community and ice sport community going forward.”
Buchholdt said the plan being explored now involves a public-private partnership that includes working with a developer on a proposal that would include associated university land development. He said that in the next few months, a more defined plan will likely be released to the public.
Read the full article here.