FEATURE STORY //
was not easy. Te club had a verbal agreement with the Fargo Parks Groups for a site, but they were unable to acquire the funds needed to move forward with the project for several years. As with many other facility capital campaigns, FMCC members spent multiple years attempting to fundraise with varied success. Amelia Young, FMCC president, stressed the importance of a strong building committee comprised of at least one member with connections in the communi- ty. “If you can’t find a person with strong community connections in your club, expand your committee,” Young said. It was not until aſter the involvement of community leader Steve M. Scheel two years ago that their capital campaign was reinvigorated. With Scheel’s direction, the club re-focused its fundraising on their mem-
ber pledge drive to take full advantage of a $250,000 dollar-for-dollar matching grant. Te capital campaign, which focused on the community impact of the new club, encouraged businesses and other community groups to get behind the project. Te club also successfully sought support from seemingly unlikely sources, such as the local Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, North Dakota State Tourism, and various banks from which they were soliciting financing propos- als.
Te new facility is expected to be completed in time for the 2014 U.S. Olympic
Team Trials for Curling, which will be held at Scheels Arena in Fargo, Nov. 10- 17. Coinciding with this event is the celebration of FMCC’s 75th Anniversary on Nov. 14. Facility renderings are available on the club’s website,
www.fmcurling. org.
Arena-based clubs around the country are exploring their options for obtain-
ing dedicated ice. Te Denver Curling Club, an arena club originally established in 1965 with a dedicated facility, is in the process of returning to its roots. Aſter being forced to shut its doors due to a dwindling curling population, the club resurrected itself on the wave of public interest in curling following the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. With a membership of just over 30 curlers in 2007, the club blossomed to more than 300 members in several years. Aſter hosting the 2009 U.S. Men’s and Women’s Nationals, which also served
as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the club started to explore the possibility of transitioning from arena ice to dedicated ice. “Te bug to have our own facility arose and a building committee was formed,” said Pam Finch, club president. Te club was fortunate to have the land donated by a member, who also supplied $1.5 million in financing. Other funds have been garnered through profits from learn-to-curl and corporate events, as well as various fundraising campaigns, including pledges from members. Finch suggests every club seeking to obtain dedicated ice establish a finance committee. At the Denver Curling Club, this team was responsible for, among
Austin Curling Center (Pleasant Valley, Texas)
http://www.facebook.com (search for Austin Curling Center) Efforts are underway to gain approval for the construction of the Austin
Curling Center. Te facility would house the first dedicated curling ice in Texas and become the home of the Lone Star Curling Club. Plans for the facility have recently undergone design changes in order to meet building requirements of the local community. Coyotes Curling Club (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
http://www.coyotescurling.com
Members of the Coyotes Curling Club are hard at work on a fundraising cam-
paign to meet their goal of opening the first dedicated curling facility in Ari- zona. Te club plans to retrofit an existing structure, with a target completion date of January 2014. “We have a demand for curling that will ensure our suc- cess and forecast that we will grow exponentially with the current obstacles (ice time, quality) removed,” said Darryl Horsman, Coyotes Curling Club president.
other things, gathering information from multiple clubs, such as league struc- tures and schedules, membership/league fees, and operating costs. With that information as a base, the team created an operating model that was used to test various revenue and expense scenarios. Finch recommends being conservative in every way possible, including the number of members the club should expect to gain in the first few years, when building a forward-looking operating budget. In fact, the club reduced the number of sheets from five to four in order to keep costs down and maximize their chances for success. More information on this project can be found on the club website,
www.denvercurlingclub.com. In addition to building efforts, organizations like the Hibbing Curling Club
in Hibbing, Minn., are forging ahead with major facility upgrades. Like many clubs across the U.S., the seven-sheet facility has been experiencing issues aris- ing from the sand base under the ice surface. Clubs with sand floors can have difficulty maintaining a consistent, level playing surface. Board Member Shawn Rojeski explained that the well-known difficulty with ice conditions has made the facility unpopular with curlers in the area. Te Hibbing Curling Club was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the
Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitations Board, an economic development agency unique to the area. According to Rojeski, the donation will allow the club to replace the sand base and upgrade the dehumidification system, helping them attain high quality, cham- pionship ice. “We want to make Hibbing a destination to curl,” Rojeski said. Te rehabilitation, which is expected to be completed by October 2013, will be just in time for the club’s celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Efforts to build and improve
existing structures are evidence of the passion for and commit- ment to the sport among curlers in the United States. Hopefully, the anticipated surge in inter- est from the next Olympics will result in many new members for these clubs. Donations can be made to most
of these efforts through their websites.n
Golden shovels were used to break ground on April 25 for the new six-sheet Fargo Curling Club.
Photo by Bruce Bernstein
Pittsburgh Curling Club (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
http://www.pittsburghcurlingclub.com
Te Pittsburgh Curling Club members have recently accelerated their plans
to build a dedicated facility aſter a dramatic decrease in the amount of ice time available for curling at their home arena. Fundraising for the four-sheet facility is currently underway. Te club aspires to complete a “bare bones” structure prior to the 2014 Olympics, adding amenities as membership grows and fund- raising continues.
Triangle Curling Club (Durham, N.C.)
http://www.trianglecurling.com
In April 2013, the Durham City Council unanimously approved a rezoning
and remapping application submitted by the Triangle Curling Club on seven acres of land they hope will soon house a dedicated curling facility. An attendee at this hearing reports a council member as stating, “Tis is the coolest request we’ve ever had!”n
USA Curling (( 17 ((
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