Since starting the hockey program when he came to Bowling Green in 1967, Jack Vivian remembers many proud moments occurring at the University’s Ice Arena. Whether it was Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton first learning how to skate as a child, the University winning its first and only collegiate national championship in men’s hockey during the 1984 season or the countless community members participating in recreational events such as youth hockey or open skating, Vivian remembers them all. But the memories might stop there. ‘ After 42 years in existence, the Ice Arena, which hosts hundreds of events to thousands of people yearly, is in danger of shutting its doors. If money for renovations and the future upkeep of the arena is not raised through public funding or private donations, hockey games and open skates might become a thing of the past, Vivian said. ‘I can’t imagine that campus not having that ice arena,’ he said. Inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, Vivian was a pioneer to Bowling Green hockey from its inauguration to when he ended his four year varsity coaching duties in 1973. He was also one of the founding members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the division Bowling Green currently plays in. Vivian is trying to add one more title to his resume’shy; — savior to the Ice Arena and the hockey program. The Ice Arena project is special to Vivian because it hits home. It only makes matters worse for him seeing something he helped build and develop crumble. While University administrators in no way want to lose one of the most historic buildings on campus, along with the hockey program, they may be forced to do so. The Ice Arena needs costly repairs and renovations, but money for the project might not be available, Vivian said. Vivian estimates between $12-$14 million will be needed to make the necessary improvements, such as changing the ice and replacing the ice clamp, fixing the roof and boilers, improving concessions and replacing much of the current infrastructure by upgrading facilities to modern day standards. But the University is not standing idle and crying poverty. Under President Carol Cartwright’s leadership, University officials, University alumni, community members and former hockey players have all come together to form an Ice Arena Working Group. The group is trying to come up with reasonable solutions to improve the building and benefit all parties using the facilities. Vivian, who was the University’s first hockey coach, has now returned to Bowling Green as chair of the Ice Arena Working Group to try to restore not only the facility itself, but also the greatness the arena once held. ‘The University, for whatever reason, has not taken care of the building and it is showing the effects of that,’ he said. ‘We’re in a position where we need to fix it up.’ As CEO of JRV Management, a company that consults and oversees the quality of ice arenas around the country, Vivian said the University’s Ice Arena is in a poor state. Out of the 150 buildings he has worked on with JRV, Vivian said the University’s Ice Arena is in one of the worst conditions due to age and poor maintenance. ‘It’s been executed and is on death row,’ Vivian said about the Ice Arena’s potential fate. ‘We have been given some time and unless we can turn [the Ice Arena] around both as a building and as a varsity hockey program and everyone else that benefits from it, it’s subject to be done away with and that would be a tragedy for Bowling Green.’ But Vivian’s group is not alone in trying to save the Ice Arena. There is already a foundation started to help raise money to renovate the arena. Last week, Ohio Representative Randy Gardner and State Senator Mark Wagoner visited the Ice Arena with Vivian. Gardner and Wagoner said they will try to convince Ohio to allocate $1.5 million out of the state capital budget toward renovating the Ice Arena. But $1.5 million is still less than 10 percent of what Vivian estimates will be needed. Arena with Vivian. Gardner and Wagoner said they will try to convince Ohio to allocate $1.5 million out of the state capital budget toward renovating the Ice Arena. But $1.5 million is still less than 10 percent of what Vivian estimates will be needed. And while the Ice Arena’s life might depend on dollars and cents, it will be the community members who will mourn not having a place to go skate or watch a hockey game. ‘The Ice Arena, unlike any other building on campus, from the beginning, has been a building that has more community use than University use,’ Bowling Green Mayor John Quinn said. As one of the members of the Ice Arena Working Group, Quinn said with some help from state funding, along with fund raising events and public support, he hopes a reasonable solution can be found. ‘It’s an important project meeting two needs,’ Quinn said about the master plan. ‘It helps the University solve a problem with the structure aging and being neglected and ensures community activity will ensue for years to come.’ Ed Whipple, vice president of student affairs at the University, said devoted members like Vivian and Quinn are the types of personnel Cartwright wanted when she put together this team. ‘I feel confident they are going to come up with the right recommendation,’ Whipple said. ‘It’s a good working group and it’s my hope they are going to come up with a realistic recommendation both short and long-term.’ Vivian said he knows he is working with the right people and is confident the Ice Arena will return to the glory days and make lasting impressions in the future for the next Olympic champion curler or championship hockey team Bowling Green can be proud of. ‘I wouldn’t have anything to do with this if it was something that couldn’t be resurrected,’ he said. ‘It can and it will.’