Oct. 7, 2007 edition of the Bemidji Pioneer:

Five years ago, Bemidji Youth Hockey began practicing in a new arena adjacent to the new Bemidji High School. But that’s all the players can do in the arena — practice, not compete.
For the eight home tournaments held in Bemidji during the 10-week season, competition games must be played in the Neilson-Reise City Arena, Nymore Gardens or, if the rink is not in use by Bemidji State University teams, the John Glas Fieldhouse. The Bemidji Community Arena will not be available for competition until adequate, upto-code restrooms, locker room and warm-space lobby are completed.
“Every age group — boys and girls — have a tournament at home,” said Dan Dow, a Bemidji Youth Hockey Association capital campaign organizer.

To make competition possible at the Community Arena, Bemidji Youth Hockey Association supporters have launched the Bemidji Community Arena Capital Campaign. Hugh Welle, one of the capital campaign organizers, said the community generously invested $2.5 million in the Community Arena starting with the 1994 fundraising. He said the Community Arena has the capacity to seat 2,000 spectators on bleachers disassembled, cleaned, moved and reassembled by volunteers. The bleachers were originally in the former Bemidji Junior High School where the Boys and Girls Club of the Bemidji Area is now located.
The cost of completing this phase of the Community Arena is about $1.5 million. However, the Neilson Foundation has pledged $650,000 over the next five years, with $130,000 due at the end of the year, and Beltrami County has pledged $27,600. The current total capital campaign fundraising goal is $853,331. If donors come up with a minimum of $300,000 by the end of this year, construction will start in the spring to make the arena spectator-ready by the 2008-2009 hockey season.
The BYHA-owned Community Arena was built on Bemidji School District land leased by BYHA for 30 years, Dow said.
A second sheet of ice is also in the plans for the future, but is not part of the current capital campaign, said Dow.
“Eventually, we want this place to be where our Lumberjacks play,” Welle said.
Currently, BHS hockey is played at the Nymore Arena, which also has inadequate restrooms, Dow said. However, the Nymore Arena was built in 1974 on the site of a former outdoor rink. Because of its age, it was grandfathered in and doesn’t fall under the code the Community Arena must fulfill.
“Nymore wasn’t built as a spectator rink; they modified it,” said Dow. “The theory was if we built this (community) rink, people would open their pockets and we’d get it finished right away.”
If the tournaments could be played at the CommunityArena, the registration fees would help pay for the improvements and retire the BYHA $525,000 initial construction debt, the organizers said.
Bemidji Youth Hockey provides more economic impact to Bemidji during the winter months than any other group or organization, with the exception of Bemidji State University, said Gayle Quistgard, executive director of VisitBemidji, and Lori Paris, executive director of the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce. In the promotional material for the BYHA capital campaign, they said visitors for hockey games and tournaments support stores, restaurants, gas stations, hotels and other area businesses. The estimated revenue Bemidji Youth Hockey generates is $4.8 million annually, they said. When the Community Arena is finished and ready for spectators, and has the second sheet of ice, the estimated revenue from youth hockey would be $6.2 million annually, they said.
“Regardless of whether it’s too cold or not cold enough or too snowy, it happens,” Welle said of the hockey tournaments. He and his wife have two sons who played with Bemidji Youth Hockey.
Dow said Bemidji Youth Hockey was started in the 1959-1960 season by his father, Larry Dow, and a group of other men, including George Neilson and Halvor Reise. Initially, they played outside until the Neilson-Reise Arena was built in 1967.
“I’ve been playing hockey since I was 2,” Dow said.
In the early 1990s, girls’ hockey became part of Bemidji Youth Hockey. Dow said his daughter plays in BHYA.
“The community has been gracious donating to the cause; they need to dig a little deeper,” said Welle.
BYHA is a 501c3 tax exempt charitable organization, so all donations to the capital campaign are tax deductible.