Bloomington Ice Center [BIC] is set to reopen Aug. 1 after a series of annual maintenance projects at the city-owned facility hosting recreational ice hockey and figure skating.
But as the venue gears up for its fall season, if you aren't already there, it's going to be very hard to get in.
With hockey now booming in Bloomington-Normal, the BIC is at capacity.
“If there’s ice available, we traditionally can get it sold,” said James Wayne, superintendent of recreation for the City of Bloomington.
The key word is “if.”
“We’ve seen exponential growth continue to occur for us, and we’ve only got a set amount of hours that we can program the space,” Wayne said. “During our prime time, we’re going 18 hours a day, from 6 a.m. until midnight, seven days a week.”
Part of that includes a steep uptick in participation among women and girls.
Rachael Cremer is a coach for the Revolution, an all-girls youth hockey squad affiliated with the Central Illinois Girls Hockey Association. She also coaches co-ed teams.
2026 marks the Revolution's 10th year. Cremer has been there since the beginning.
“It was not something that I did growing up,” she said. “It was not something that I ever thought I would do. But my kids got involved, so then I wanted to get involved also.”
Cremer learned to play, then learned to coach. She said working with players is the most rewarding job she's ever had.
“I come back every year in some capacity or another because I really enjoy working with the kids and getting them to start loving the game,” she said.
Since Cremer's hockey journey began nearly 11 years ago, the sport's popularity has exploded. Part of the surge in hockey interest stems from the recent U.S. men's and women's gold medal victories at this year’s Olympics, plus local excitement generated by the Bloomington Bison.
The Bison play next to Bloomington Ice Center at Grossinger Motors Arena [GMA], which is currently shopping for a new naming rights sponsor. In an interview last week, Mayor Dan Brady didn’t rule out a potential benefit to BIC wrapped in the revenue generated from Grossinger’s new name, but while the two facilities share a roof, parking, and certain ice essentials like HVAC and cooling plants, they are, in fact, separate facilities under different city departments. Grossinger is under Arts and Entertainment. BIC is Parks and Recreation.
“One of the things, I think, as we’re looking long term, will there be a need for an additional sheet of ice?” said Wayne. “And with that, what additional amenities are needed, right? Storage, locker room space, all of those things.”
The ice center is so crowded at times that changing space has become an issue. When the Bison moved in, Illinois State University's club hockey team got kicked out of its locker room in GMA. They've now got dedicated space at the BIC, and everyone else is making do. The three remaining locker rooms are rarely enough, forcing the ice center to get ... creative.
Katie Klotzbach plays goalie in an adult rec league and runs a team called Malört and Savior [after the Chicago punk band].
Klotzbach, “Klotz” for short, said Malört and Savior is fortunate to have a lot of women who play for the team, but “there’s not always enough space for us to have our own locker room,” she said. “There’s a shared room that’s kind of like a private party room/rental/conference room sort of deal with folding chairs as the main slash only amenity.”
That shared conference room on the other side of the lobby from the ice is near the public bathrooms, but it only locks from the inside. A converted fourth rink-side changing room has a sink and shower, but no toilet. And during tournaments, especially those with co-ed play, the staff occasionally have to fashion changing space out of pipe and drape on the south end of the ice.
Wayne said locker room assignments are made day-by-day based on need and, because of its small size, the group with the lowest number gets assigned to the shared room when it’s in use. Anecdotally, that is often the women, although Wayne said the BIC doesn’t keep records on who gets assigned which room.
Less violent than roller derby
Sarah Matas plays just about every position on Malört and Savior. She's mainly a sub and has been for a few years.
“I met Klotz through roller derby and had too many injuries there,” Matas said. “I retired to ice hockey because it’s less violent.”
Matas said she was drawn to the team because of its inclusive nature. If she had it her way, there would be a co-ed option for changing space.
“Just this last league session, actually, I was the only female-identifying person on my team. It meant the world to me to be able to go into the locker room with my team to plan out our strategy, to know our positions that we were going to be playing,” she said.
Adult leagues can opt for such an arrangement, but the facility legally has to provide options for gendered changing rooms, even if it’s a less-than-ideal one, especially on youth leagues. Wayne said USA Hockey requires not only separate changing spaces for boys and girls on each team, but a chaperone in each room and another space for transgender players if a team has that need.
It’s not just the locker rooms. A narrow ring around the ice limits BIC’s options for viewing stands. The facility has bleachers on one end of the ice, and allows people to stand around the edges if, for example, your kid is the goalie on the opposite end of the ice.
Wayne said he's well aware of the ice center's limitations. Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said BIC, which was previously the Pepsi Ice Center until those naming rights expired in 2016, may consider its own new sponsor in the future, but for now, he said Grossinger Motors Arena is the priority.
So, working with what BIC has is the only answer, for now.
“It’s not cheap,” he said. “We’re talking tens of millions of dollars. If we were to knock down those walls, you’re talking about closing a street out there. And is one additional rink enough, is a legitimate question.”
Despite the challenges, players say they generally feel welcome. They like the vibes at Bloomington Ice Center. That's probably why it's bursting at the seams.
“Everybody I’ve run into is very welcoming and kind, and really treats you like a person,” Matas said. “That means a lot to me.”
