The Mississippi Gulf Coast Skating Club asks....WANT TO STAY COOL WITH YEAR ROUND ICE?   Please sign our petition!

          Need Convincing?  Read below. 

On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we have a seasonal ice skating rink for a very short 6 weeks in the winter. During this time, we host both youth and adult hockey, as well as having scores of children and adults skate and learn to skate. While thousands enjoy the ice during this short period of time, the demand for more ice time and activities is greater. Hockey and public skating have been popular and in existence in this area for 15 years and people drive hours from all over the region including Jackson, MS & New Orleans to ice skate here!

Having a year round rink would give our children more diverse activities to keep them healthy. Sports like Hockey and Figure Skating would explode in popularity. We could compete against neighboring hockey teams and with existing figure skating clubs in Pensacola, Fl, Pelham, AL, Baton Rouge, LA and Lafayette, LA. Both sports foster self-esteem, discipline and goal setting. Hockey players and figure skaters learn important life skills like how to fall and pick themselves back up again.

A year-round ice rink would provide the Gulf Coast: 

• Diversity of attractions for both residents and tourists. Ice activities in South Mississippi would be a novel attraction for our area, helping increase area tourism, which benefits us all. 
• Further revitalization to the area still depressed from Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. 
• Expansion of sports like Youth & Adult Hockey and Figure Skating and, with a longer season, the introduction of Learn to Skate programs, Speed Skating, Curling, and Broomball. 
• A fun and low impact way for all ages to improve balance, flexibility, core conditioning and cardiovascular exercise while burning lots of calories.
• An additional facility in which to hold birthday parties, corporate & private parties, and fundraisers as well as lessons for the many homeschooled children. 
• Life long friendships made on the ice and the resulting camaraderie of being on a team and/or in a club. 
• A unique, wholesome activity for all ages & great way to beat the heat in the summer. Imagine a day on the beach followed by a cooling session on the ice!

In addition, this ice rink would provide:

• A venue for a "junior" hockey team which is the highest amateur level at the U20 age.
• A facility for colleges such as USM to join the ranks of other area colleges, including Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tulane, LSU and Alabama, to have their own ACHA team.
• The possibility of offering larger ice involved tournaments by working with the Coliseum to have two sheets of ice available. We would be the only regional area to offer this. 

Harrison County, along with the Biloxi School District, own a facility specifically designed & built as a rink. It has served as a roller rink for over a decade and has been allowed to remain vacant for approximately one year. The county asked for proposals and they have been submitted.

WE HAVE INVESTORS! They represent one of four businesses that have submitted proposals to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors for the use of this site. The location is on Debuys Rd., former home of the Harrison County Skate Park.

Adding ice to this rink would be done at no additional cost to the county, and could be opened as soon as 60 days from approval. Harrison County and the Board of Education could experience financial benefits from this facility in a relatively short time. The Gulf Coast will reap benefits over time in increased tourism, becoming more of a "destination", bringing diversity to complement our Casino industry, and, of course, multiple benefits for our children and citizens. 

This skating club's goal is to demonstrate the multiple benefits, feasibility, and community interest for a local, year-round skating facility to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors.  We respectfully request the county to choose ice!

Let's help South Mississippians finally experience a "SNOW DAY" by bringing year-round ice skating to our beautiful coast.

Please sign our petition today and thank you for your support!