The Riverview Ice House was and is an amazing ice arena. It has had such a positive influence on the community and in my life. We used to pack the house for Icemen games on Saturday nights in the 1990s. It brings people to downtown and can and should be a center point of future downtown development.

As Downtown business owners and lifelong advocates for a vibrant central city, we have considered the Riverview Icehouse, not only a positive asset along our river front, but an integral part of the rich urban amenities that are so important to our downtown community. There has always been a conflicting philosophy about how we view growth in our city: urban sprawl vs. adaptive use of our changing urban core.

From the day I was born, it felt like the second day of my life when I set foot in Riverview Icehouse. Riverview Icehouse was like a second home to me as I grew up on 1st street, which is less than a block away. I probably spent more time at Riverview than I did at my house. Without Riverview, I never would have been introduced to the best game on earth, and I also would not have met some of the best people that are still in my life today.

In the fall of 1992, we were living in a small town in southern Minnesota with our two sons, Daniel (11), and Tyler (8). Both sons played hockey there, but Daniel was rapidly outgrowing the house league program, so we were considering making a move to the Twin Cities area where I could commute to work and provide both boys a more competitive hockey program. 

Riverview Ice House has meant a lot to me over the years. When my family moved to Byron, IL, Riverview provided me and many others in the Byron area with a place to play hockey, be part of the Rockford community, and develop lifelong friendships. Riverview Ice House, the Rockford Hockey Club, Rockford Park District, and countless coaches allowed me to develop as a player and a person.

The Ice House is not only a favorite of mine in this community because my Husband Bill was put on that project when he first joined the RPD as Deputy Director, but it also has been a favorite of so many in Rockford, and also so many outside of Rockford.

What is it about Riverview that contributes to all this? Riverview's magic has something to do with everything about the place. The Brutalist design concept, burrowed into a hillside. The old circular fireplace* in the sunken gathering area just left of the front doors, flanked by picture windows offering a view of the icy river. The lobby filled with multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multi-background skating enthusiasts during Public Skate sessions - so many public skaters it can be hard to shoulder through with a hockey bag.

I grew up at Riverview. I figure skated, played hockey, coached, and it was my first job. It's really upsetting that the Park District never really maintained it over the years... especially once Carlson went in. It's like they wanted it to fall apart so they'd have an excuse to get rid of it. Even still, it has more personality than Carlson ever will and it provides somewhere for folks on the other side of town to play hockey and skate.

I want the ice rink to get saved because I like to play with my dad and his friends on the little rink. I have met all my new best friends playing hockey with the Jr Ice Hogs and now Rockford Hockey Club. My name is Kash and I am 8 and I live in Rockford.

It’s just a pile of bricks with a couple slabs of ice, really. Probably an expensive pile of bricks. But we can't divorce our structures from our experiences. I spent what feels like every day of my childhood at Riverview Ice House. You’d pull over the trolley tracks and park, overlooking the river. If you’d get there early enough, you could catch the figure skaters getting off the ice while the sun was still rising.

I spent my entire youth having our parents driving us to Rockton to the Wagon Wheel, the only ice to play organized ice hockey in the region. The accomplishments of the parents and park district to build the Riverview facility was difficult, admirable and overdue.

As a parent of two boys who played hockey for 14 years each in Beloit, I remember fondly all the trips to Riverview Ice House to play Rockford. While they were a rival, the rink was a great place to play for the kids and a great place to watch for the parents and families. Rockford has a long standing tradition with the game of hockey and tearing down an iconic rink that serves so many families does not sit well with this Wisconsin hockey mom!