About a year after the Baptist Health IcePlex opened in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Panthers’ practice facility looks to be a hit among South Floridians who aren’t involved in the NHL.
The IcePlex, located in Holiday Park next to The Parker, repurposed the historic foundations of the War Memorial Auditorium when it was built. Melissa Fitzgerald, general manager of the new facility, said the project was about a partnership between the city and the Panthers to offer something new.
The goal was “to have a meeting place that offers a variety of different things, so that people who live in the neighborhood or live in the area can come in and shop, eat, skate, go to concerts, whatever,” Fitzgerald said.
While the IcePlex is a new home for the Panthers, it also offers youth and adult hockey programs, figure skating, public skating, curling, broomball and watch parties for the community.
Fitzgerald said tens of thousands of people came in the past year just to skate, and now more than 500 kids and adults participate in lessons and leagues weekly. The facility also features The Federal bar and restaurant, which is open to the public, and Pantherland, a shop for team merchandise.
Melanie Evans and her 6-year-old daughter, Lana El Rashidy, are frequent visitors to the IcePlex, particularly for the girls’ hockey program.
“She was never a girl that wanted to do ballet, gymnastics, dance, other things that her older sister likes to do. So skating is one, but the girls’ hockey specifically was something that she just gravitated right to,” said Evans, of Fort Lauderdale. “It fits her personality, and it’s so nice to have something to do with hockey with girls. That’s very rare.”
Evans likes to eat at The Federal and enjoys the views of other facility activities.
“I think the restaurant has been a really good addition, because people come just to go to the restaurant, and they see the pickleball courts and the activities that are going on in the park so then they want to sign their kids up,” Evans said.
She also likes adult curling nights. “That’s also a great activity. It was so much fun. I’ve never curled before and I loved it,” Evans said.
For Jessica Lust and 6-year-old Sydney, the presence of an ice rink was more than just a convenience — it offered the mom a chance to share a piece of her childhood with her daughter.
“I grew up in northern Minnesota, so I spent my youth living on a lake, ice skating and doing all that, and I always hoped that my kids would, too, and know how to skate, so having a facility so close was going to give us that option,” said Lust, who lives in Fort Lauderdale.
After playing for a year, Sydney Lust has not only developed her skating skills but also learned valuable life lessons.
“She’s definitely made friends, but more importantly, she has learned how to be confident, and at times when things feel very difficult, she has the resiliency of like: ‘I’m just going to keep trying again,’ ” Lust said.
Beyond the positive impact of boosting a child’s confidence, Fitzgerald, the facility’s general manager, said she also envisions cultivating homegrown hockey stars.
“How exciting would it be the first time that the Panthers drafted a hockey player from our local community, from somewhere in Southeast Florida, because they had access to this facility and they had great coaching?” Fitzgerald said.
Bella Giaquinto and Isabella Fernandez de Cueto are reporters with Mako Media Network, Nova Southeastern University’s student-run media, housed in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.
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