Tampa Bay Lighting adds upgrades to Lakewood Ranch hockey rink

The outdoor hockey rink at Lakewood Ranch Park is getting an upgrade due to popular demand. 

Bradley Gustafson, founder of the Manatee Ball Hockey League, said the program has been growing by about 35% each season. The league has hit its cap without facility upgrades.

Between adults and kids, there are 220 league members who practice and play ball hockey, or street hockey, on Saturdays. The upgraded rink will allow for expanded programming that includes roller hockey.

Gustafson started the league in 2021 for his 8-year-old son Lucas, who was 4 at the time. Lucas wanted to play hockey with his friends but struggled on ice skates.

There were only 36 players and three coaches the first year, so 4-year-old Lucas played in the 9-and-under division. Now, there are five divisions, each with multiple teams, and 18 coaches. 

The co-ed adult league started with 15 players and struggled to find goalies. Now, there are 46 players among four teams with plans to add another two teams for next season.

The improvements

As it stands today, the rink is only suitable for street hockey because of the brushed concrete surface, which Gustafson described as abrasive. 

The new sport court tile flooring will allow for roller sports, such as roller hockey and roller derby.

“You’re rollerblading a lot faster than you can run,” Gustafson said, “If somebody gets tripped, or something like that, (the sport court) is a little bit more forgiving.” 

Sport court tiles are also shock absorbing, so the surface is beneficial for street hockey players, too. It lessens the impact to their joints.

Maintenance-wise, drainage tiles within the new new court will make it easier to clean than the current concrete court. 

The original rink was built in 2019 by the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation. In 2017, it was slated for Premier Park, but officials decided Lakewood Ranch Park was a better fit.

The foundation donated $110,000 to build the rink, and Schroeder-Manatee Ranch reimbursed Manatee County $79,000 for pouring the concrete slab. 

Gustafson went back to the Lightning Foundation to ask for help with the upgrades. The foundation donated $87,000 to add sport court tile floors, benches for players, a score box and penalty boxes. 

Molly White, director of Sports and Leisure for Manatee County, said the sport court tiles will also increase the longevity of the rink, and the benches and penalty boxes will give players an elevated experience. 

She called the outdoor rink a unique amenity to the area. 

“The community also utilizes (the rink) for drop-in play from youths catching a quick game to adults battling one-on-one,” White said. 

Two national ball hockey leagues use the rink to practice, as well. 

The next steps

Gustafson is working with the county to also add a shade cover and lighting. All White could say was that her department was committed to investigating the installation of a shade and lighting, but she didn’t have a time frame or cost estimate to offer. 

Gustafson got an initial quote of $350,000, but a member of the league owns a steel building company, so he’s working on trimming that price down. 

Gustafson first came up with the plan to upgrade the rink after attending a meeting held by Manatee County on the subject of sports and travel two years ago. Elliott Falcione, the executive director of Manatee County's Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, was the main speaker. 

Gustafson “cornered” Falcione for advice on how to attract tournaments to the rink. Next, he convinced Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse to be on board. 

Courtesy image

“The vast majority of the tournaments that you come across right now are in the Northeast, but we’re confident that we can bring in some high level tournaments for ball hockey for adults and kids,” Gustafson said. “The Florida Panthers are hosting a tournament in Miami in two weeks, and we have seven teams that are going to it.” 

Kruse looked at the rink and agreed that if done properly, there were opportunities for economic generation through tournaments, expanded leagues for kids and adults and a chance to strengthen an already great community partnership with the Lightning Foundation.

“We’d love to get them more involved in Manatee County,” Kruse said. 

While the initial upgrades are a great first step, Gustafson will continue to pursue the shade and lighting. Otherwise, the program remains limited. 

Without lights, he can’t hold practices on weeknights during winter months when the sun sets earlier. And during summer months, it’s too hot to play without a shade. 

“The community wants to play more,” Gustafson said, “But we can only play as much as the sun allows us to play.”