Arbitration to resolve youth hockey disputes at Sportsplex

SPORT; COMMUNITY NEWS

by Gregory D. L. Morris
Columnist/correspondent

March 28, 2024

As of press time, The Local Reporter learned that the two sides, which are increasingly at odds over the future of the youth hockey programs at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough, have agreed to arbitration in which county officials will participate.

Differences have become bitter between Recreation Factory Partners (RFP), the company contracted to the county to operate the Sportsplex, and Triangle Youth Hockey of North Carolina (TYHNC), known as the Hillsborough Hogs (the name the team used).

“We had a regular meeting with Travis Myren, deputy district manager, earlier this week and this issue came up,” John Stock, CEO of RFP and Sportsplex, told TLR. “We suggested mediation, and he graciously offered to facilitate with the province, providing a professional mediator who they have used successfully in other cases in the past. TYHNC has agreed to participate and it is scheduled for next week. We are hopeful.”

The core problem is the growing demand for ice time from youth and adult programs, which all parties agree is a good problem to have. While there are several skating facilities in Durham and Wake counties (several with two ice surfaces), the single-plate facility at SportsPlex is the only one in Orange County.

In addition to the Hogs, Sportsplex is the practice and game rink for UNC and several other college hockey programs, as well as figure skating programs and public skating. UNC Hockey Boosters are actively planning their own arena, but it won't open for a few years.

UNC Men’s Hockey plans arena at Carraway Village.

TYHNC is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 at the Daniel Boone Skating Rink in Hillsborough. In 1995, the Sportsplex was built nearby, which only had one ice rink. Youth and recreational hockey flourished in the area when the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. Nine years later, the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup as National Hockey League champions, giving the sport a huge boost throughout the region.

RFP developed and operated several area ice rinks, many of which are now owned or operated by American Sports Entertainment, a national company doing business in North Carolina as Polar Ice. In 2005, RFP was contracted to manage Sportsplex.

“RFP has provided professional management services to Sportsplex over the past 19 years, growing its customer base and expanding its offerings,” Myren told TLR. The facility attracts more than 600,000 visitors annually and generates operating surplus almost every year that is used to repair and upgrade it.

“The county has not considered adding a second rink to the Sportsplex or becoming involved with the UNC Arena,” Myren added. The Sportsplex is the only locally owned skating facility in the region, if not the entire state. The other rinks in Raleigh/Cary are owned by Polar or leased to Polar by private developers.”

In the years before the pandemic, TYHNC had 130 to 140 registered players ages 5 to 18, according to Tom Deis, president and planner. This season, the Hogs have 178 players on 10 teams ranging from 10 and under to 18U, and three to four teams in the 6U and 8U groups. Youth of all genders are welcome on all teams. The teams are officially a house league, but play in the area against teams at Polar Rinks.

https://www.tyhnc.org/

Deis noted that the relationship between TYHNC and RFP “has not always been contentious” and explained that a series of proposals and counter-proposals on glaciation, program management and other operational issues were becoming increasingly fractious. Things came to a head on March 6 when RFP posted a note on the SportsPlex website that it “would not continue with TYHNC as a provider of recreational youth hockey.” That note has since been replaced by a two-page question-and-answer session.

https://www.oc-sportsplex.com/

Disclosure: The writer's son played youth hockey in the region from 2018 through 2021, including TYHNC and Polar teams and programs.

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Gregory DL Morris is a business journalist and historian who regularly reports for TLR.

This reporter can be reached at [email protected]