{"id":1681,"date":"2019-08-26T17:08:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T21:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2019-08-26T18:12:56","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T22:12:56","slug":"lakeland-ice-arena-set-to-open-after-labor-day-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2019\/08\/26\/lakeland-ice-arena-set-to-open-after-labor-day-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakeland Ice Arena Set to Open After Labor Day 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lakeland\u2019s soon-to-open first ice arena will be all brand new.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt for all of its tables, benches and bar tops that mark\na place in history; the new owners repurposed all 40 wooden lanes of the\nbowling alley that used to occupy the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tons of steel was used to secure the heavy lanes to their\nnew homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story goes like this: Mr. Joe Blanton, a former\npresident of Publix Super Markets, built the bowling alley for his\nbowling-enthusiast daughter, Kay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakeland Ice Arena and its owners wanted to represent the history of the building by using each of the 40 lanes in the former bowling alley as materials for his new ice rink and they did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granville said, \u201cThe coolest one is the one that we call our center ice table, which is our largest table in the building,\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s made of lane 21, which is the lane that Kay Blanton Wentworth got married on. So, we kept as close center ice as we could and I made a table out of it.\u201d Kay\u2019s husband favorite lane was lane 22 which is next to Kay\u2019s lane as a table in the middle of the building also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granville told the Lakeland Gazette he anticipates opening the weekend after Labor Day but is not declaring an exact date or whether public skating will be offered yet when it opens. Click here<\/a> to check out our website for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also have an agreement with the NHL \/ Tampa Bay Lightning to provide 14,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion and an outdoor ball-hockey rink. The Tampa Bay Lightning signed an agreement to host programming in Lakeland, including instruction on skating and hockey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Granville said. \u201cWe wanted to bridge the gap between Tampa\nand Orlando by bringing an arena to Lakeland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granville said transforming a bowling alley to an ice arena\nhas been fun from day one. A lot of the areas in the 50,000-square-foot\nbuilding are large enough to create spaces that can accommodate all of his\nideas. Some of those ideas, on the verge of fruition, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n