The Bakke Sub-Zero Ice Center serves skaters across the Dane County community
Photo: Claire Zimmerman
On a warm Wednesday afternoon in December, UW-Madison junior Dylan Faulkner packs up his skates and sticks and heads to the Bakke Recreation and Wellness Center to join in on the 18 & Older Open Hockey session at the rink. Alongside a few of his buddies, Faulkner shoots the puck around and scrimmages with other students to practice for their intramural hockey championship game later that week.
The rink is roaring with players of all skill levels, but they all have one thing in common. They love the game of hockey and enjoy having a space that fosters the sport throughout the community.
Lake Mendota typically freezes over by mid-December, allowing winter activities to commence outside, but this year’s warm winter season has postponed the start of pond hockey in Madison. Luckily, for avid hockey players, like Faulkner, the Bakke Ice Rink is open year-round and provides the facilities necessary for success.
“I grew up in Boston, so I have been skating since I can remember,” said Faulkner. “Being in a place where hockey is so prominent makes me want to get out there and continue to compete.”
The Bakke Recreation and Wellness Center opened on April 24, 2023, and is situated on Observatory Drive, between the lakeshore dorms, on the east side of the UW-Madison campus. The brand new $113.2 million gym features state of the art athletic facilities including the indoor Sub-Zero Ice Center that provides the opportunity for ice activities no matter the weather.
Despite being a campus facility, the rink serves the greater Madison community beyond just university students. Rink programming stretches from UW club and intramural hockey games to local high schools, youth clubs and adult leagues as well.
“We understand that we have the capacity and opportunity to serve not just the UW Campus but also the larger community,” said Bill Riggins, the Assistant Director of Ice Operations. We typically schedule more than 15 recreational opportunities a week that are open to everyone with Public Skate, 18 & Older Open Hockey, Freestyle Figure Skating, and 18 & Older Stick & Puck. I don’t know of another rink in the area that provides as many opportunities for that type of recreational activity.”
The West Madison Polar Caps is one of many youth hockey organizations that utilize the Bakke Ice Rink throughout their season and consistently have teams practicing and competing at the rink.
“We’ve had a longstanding arrangement where we’ve used ice from UW,” said the Polar Caps President, Andy Mendyk. “We skate at our club on the far west side of Madison, but we’ve used the Shell for years to supplement our ice needs. So, we have games and practices there and I’d venture to guess we bought eight to ten hours of ice a week.”
Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center, commonly referred to as the Shell, was a prior recreation center on campus and the site of the old ice rink. It opened in 1954 to honor the fallen UW Madison veterans who served in the Civil War and acted as a shared-use space for the campus and community members.
However, as the Wisconsin student body continued to increase in size, the Nicolas Recreation Center opened in 2020 and plans were set for construction of the Bakke, the Shell quickly became obsolete.
“The Bakke is just nicer than the Shell. It has a lot more facilities and the rink is better,” said Graham Brown, a junior intramural hockey player. They have good services too, which is new. So, if you need to buy tape or get your skates sharpened, you can do that there, and they turn everything around pretty quickly.”
The transition made from the Shell to the Bakke was not easy and there was much pushback from the community. Despite being outdated, many people in the community loved the Shell and were sad to see it shut down, but there is no doubt that the Bakke hosts preferable amenities and overall, a more modern facility.
“The transition from the Shell to the Bakke was like skydiving. Very exciting and at some point, you are sure it is going to kill you, but then you make it through, and you are glad you did it,” said Riggins. “I consider the way our staff adapted to all the operational chances a big success. The students have been great at picking up the new processes and offering suggestions for how to make everything run more smoothly.”
Over the past eight months, the Bakke has seen great success and RecWell members have received positive feedback from students and community members. The organizations who used the Shell have made the shift to utilizing the Bakke rink and many more UW students have taken advantage of the new facility.
“I haven’t heard anything negative from the teams we have or any major challenges,” said Mendyk. The service has been good, and people have been receptive to our needs, and it’s just been a wonderful facility to use. We’ve really enjoyed the new ice at Bakke and parking options are good, so we’ve been nothing but happy.”
Many students on campus have expressed their appreciation for the new Bakke ice rink, whether it be through hockey or open skating.
“I have gone to Open Skate at the Bakke a few times with friends, and it has been super fun. It’s easy to rent skates and fairly inexpensive to buy a student pass,” said junior Hattie Latham. “Having an outlet and being able to skate around for a few hours has been great for my mental health.”
Although she does not play hockey or have experience figure skating, she has still had positive experiences with the new rink, and it brought a new activity into her life.
Similarly, Graham Brown said, “playing intramurals at the Bakke is super fun, it’s a good way to stay engaged with the sport and still get out there and compete with your friends.”
The student engagement and involvement are clearly present with the new opening of the Bakke, and it will likely continue to flourish as people become more acclimated to the new gym.
“I get the feeling that we are seeing more UW student participation than we did at the Shell because you can see the rink right when you walk into the Bakke,” said Riggins.
There are many exciting events at the Bakke ice rink on the horizon to keep things fun and fresh for students and community members. The rink hosts theme nights almost every Saturday night, love songs the week before Valentine’s Day and break up songs the week following Valentine’s Day.
“That one usually turns into a Taylor Swift marathon to be honest,” said Riggins.
The Bakke ice rink will continue to be used for various hockey and figure skating events throughout the year, and there are even opportunities to take skating lessons from an instructor for all ages and skill levels.
“We are fortunate in the rink because a lot of our offerings can serve students and include the community as well. It can be a difficult balancing act to find the right mix, but we do everything we can to ensure there is as much equity as possible in our scheduling and programming decisions,” said Riggins.
The Bakke ice rink stands as a testament to the integration of campus and community, providing a space where students and Madison residents can unite over a love of winter sports. The success of the Bakke lies not only in its cutting-edge facilities but in its ability to foster a sense of community and inclusivity through athletics.
