Elk Grove Ice Arena Moves To Interior Work Ahead Of Fall Opening

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL — Developers of the new Elk Grove Ice Arena marked a construction milestone recently as the 86,261-square-foot indoor rink project moves toward its planned fall opening.

Nicholas Family of Companies, of Mount Prospect, and its in-house sports and recreation division, Spectate Group, were joined by Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson on May 21 to celebrate construction progress at the two-rink complex on Meacham Road.

To commemorate the start of interior work, guests at the event were invited to sign a support column inside the arena, leaving what developers described as a permanent mark on the facility.

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The Elk Grove Ice Arena is scheduled to open this fall. The facility will also include Hatty’s Club, a family-friendly restaurant with rooftop access.

Construction began last August on the arena, which is being built on the site of a former Staples office supply store. The store was demolished to make way for the new facility.

“This is an exciting moment for this project as we celebrate our construction progress to date and the fact that we’re on track for our planned opening this fall,” said Nick Papanicholas Jr., chief executive officer and managing director of Nicholas Family of Companies, in a statement.

Papanicholas said the project has been rooted in community support and collaboration with the Village of Elk Grove.

“We’re proud to mark this milestone with Mayor Johnson as we move on to the interior buildout and begin ramping up for operations of a terrific new facility to meet demand from youth hockey programs in the region,” Papanicholas said.

Johnson praised the Nicholas & Associates team for its work on the project.

“This [facility] is phenomenal,” Johnson said in a statement. “It's unique and was developed under the vision of all stakeholders involved — players, parents and spectators. We've worked with Nicholas on many projects, and the bottom line is, you've never let us down. And you're certainly not letting us down with this project.”

The arena will be operated by Spectate Group, which plans to expand its staff to accommodate the new facility.

Designed by ARCON Associates, the arena will include eight general team locker rooms and eight dedicated locker rooms for Chicago Mission teams. Other planned features include a viewing area with floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking both rinks, a second-floor restaurant with private dining space and a rooftop terrace, a grab-and-go food and beverage concept, a physical therapy clinic, staff space and team amenities for the Chicago Mission hockey club.

Developers said community benefits will include after-school weekday evening and weekend morning ice time for youth hockey groups and skaters, post-10 p.m. nightly ice time for adult hockey leagues and dedicated practice and game time for Chicago Mission boys’ hockey teams.

The site, less than 10 miles west of O’Hare International Airport, is also positioned to attract regional and national hockey tournaments, according to developers.

The Elk Grove project is Nicholas Family of Companies’ third Chicago-area ice arena project in just over one year, following its development of the Rosemont Ice Arena and its acquisition of Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills. The company also owns the Mount Prospect Ice Arena at Nicholas Sportsplex and is developing the Westfield Ice Facility in Indiana.