Founded in 1962, the Milwaukee Winter Club has grown to around 350 members. With only so many ice rinks around, the club was looking for a way to expand.
"We've run out of ice to support the club and we thought was better to return us to our roots than a sheet in Whitefish Bay and that's where we are today," says Mike Lindemann, President of the Milwaukee Winter Club.
Coming up with the idea of a throwback rink back in 2019, the nonprofit group depended on volunteers to create a plan and put it into action.
"People with marketing backgrounds, people with financial backgrounds, people with engineering, and construction backgrounds to come together to make this a reality. Then it also took sponsors. Milwaukee Admirals, Northshore Healthcare, Bouchee just to name a few," says Alex Beer, volunteer coach and parent of skaters.
While the Cahill Rink was created to help the club's athletes improve, there are still hours for the public to skate Monday through Friday.
"Seeing the smiling faces coming off the ice of kids that I don't know and our new kids to the ice has been tremendous," says Mike.
Wanting to keep everyone safe, masks are suggested. If you show up and too many skaters are on the ice, don't worry there is plenty of time to make your visit count.
"There's a full chiller system that keeps the ice cold and allows us to skate in 45-degree weather and under. So we are looking forward to using it all winter and into March," says Alex.
"Mark Johnson the University of Wisconsin women's coach said it better, you know, hockey feels different outdoors under the lights. And that's the special place we are hoping this will be," says Mike.
For more information on the Milwaukee Winter Club, click here.
