Shuttered ice arena could get new life from Roll North campaign
The Lincoln Memorial Ice Arena has served as a storage facility since it closed in 2012. Photo by Eric Moran
By David Pierini, Editor
Eric Moran may have lost his bid last year to be a member of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, but that has not stopped him from trying to create play spaces for his fellow Northsiders.
He is leading a campaign to transform the shuttered Victory Memorial Ice Arena (VMIA) on 42nd and Morgan avenues into a roller rink.
“The building is adjacent to Henry High School and I want to see it be a space where students can not only recreation but also employment,” said Moran, an IT specialist who lives in the Victory neighborhood. “One thing that can help lower crime in an area are good-paying jobs and places to go.”
The arena is owned by Minneapolis Public Schools and was built in 1974 when most of the high schools in the city had hockey teams. In 2012, the school district decided to close the arena. The refrigeration unit that creates the ice surface broke down and was too expensive to replace. Minneapolis had only one consolidated high school team and most of the groups buying ice time were traveling from the suburbs.
Abandoned trophies, championship banners and puck marks along walls of the ends of the rink attest to its former use. A sign outside the office advertised $20 hockey sticks and skate sharpening for $3.
Since its closure, local roller derby groups have tried and failed to get the district to open the arena for practice sessions.
When Moran ran for the park board in 2021, a seat eventually won by Becka Thompson, he made reviving the old arena part of his campaign.
But now, there is momentum to reopen the old arena.
In April, directors on the Minneapolis school board discussed how to make use of vacant buildings owned by the district. The idea of revitalizing VMIA seemed to draw the most enthusiasm.
Moran decided to make public his hopes for VMIA when he created a Facebook Page for a campaign he called Roll North.
In the introduction to Roll North, Morgan said he was working with North Star Roller Derby to provide space for practices, bouts and its youth program. It would also be open to casual roller skating and pop-up skateboard events.
Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw, who wrote “This is great! My office is ready to help out.”
Moran cautioned that a reopening VMIA is in the early stages. Moran and supporters would need to negotiate with the school district on either a lease or purchase agreement.
Currently used for storage, the arena is in need of repairs to avoid future structural issues.
“I live here and I want things to do in the neighborhood,” Moran said. “I want my daughter and her friends to have things to do. Everybody wants things to do where they can walk to or bus to quickly.”