About Us
Rutland Regional Fieldhouse History
The Rutland Regional Fieldhouse, Inc. (RRF) was formed in February of 2002 to take over the efforts of the Rutland Amateur Hockey Association (RAHA) to build a new double rink ice skating facility at the Diamond Run Mall in Rutland Town. The new mission adopted by RRF: to design, fund, build and operate a skating based, multi-use recreational facility. At the time RRF was formed, the only indoor ice skating facility in Rutland County was the Royce Mandigo Arena. Royce Mandigo Arena is owned by the Rutland County Agricultural Society, and was constructed in 1974 as a result of a generous gift from Royce Mandigo, a farmer in Pittsford. Through dedicated volunteerism, The Rutland Amateur Hockey Association has operated the programs and maintained the Royce Mandigo arena throughout much of its thirty years. Age and demand resulted in a facility that had reached a point of major maintenance and insufficient surface time to accommodate the growing programs. Concurrently, because the property and building containing the rink were not owned or controlled by either the Rutland Amateur Hockey Association or RRF, there was a significant disincentive to invest in the rehabilitation/expansion of that facility. An opportunity was seen to build a modern accommodating facility that would not only continue the growth of iced based sports, but to grow other forms of indoor recreation and community events during other seasons.
The Rutland Regional Fieldhouse started with a core of six people who solicited cooperation from many partners in the community such as the Rutland Recreation Authority, MSJ, RAHA, Castleton State College and the business community. In addition to visualizing and planning a building and the operation of a multi-use facility the core values of this group and its mission were established.
The mission included the following:
to design, fund, build and operate an ice-skating based multiuse recreational facility that offers the citizens of Rutland county opportunities to participate in sporting and recreational activities that promote traditional values of honor, dedication, hard work, and sportsmanship. To work in cooperation with the Rutland Recreation Department and other sports and youth organization s to offer the widest range of athletic and physical fitness programs.
The youth of the community were and still remain the center piece of this facility. Our goal has been that any youth regardless of ability to pay will be afforded the opportunity to play. We will work with community partners to ensure this is a reality. Out of these core values a slogan was born "When you play... everyone wins!" The group received a critical non profit designation as a 501©3 and embarked on a grassroots effort to efficiently raise the monies needed. The community responded with great generosity to our call! Construction began and in November 2004, after the group raised 1.5 million dollars of support from businesses and residents, the facility doors were proudly opened. It is important to note that only $75,000.00 came from state government.
The facility has far exceeded our expectations! During the first season alone over 10,000 people enjoyed skating with family, friends during games and public skates and club events. The second season saw the expansion of the facility to accommodate teen skates (which is comfortably attended by at least 250 kids every Friday night) additional public skates, school programs, cooperation with the Rutland Recreation Department to expand Indoor sports programs and facilitating birthday parties and other events such as health expos, high school graduations and training camps. In season two, over 20,000 people enjoyed our facility! Our third season continues to see positive growth in all areas. Additional adult and youth skating lessons, co-ed Hockey leagues, speed skating and yet more teen nights, are all advancing us toward maximum utilization of the facility. Additionally it is important to note that we offer the largest indoor turf surface in the state outside of Burlington. This has lead to expanded opportunities to play lacrosse, field hockey and soccer. Registration last year saw well over 1000 players for the turf season alone. We have become a premiere venue for events such as the Rutland Regional Medical Center Health Expo, Kiwanis and Rotary Club Events. Our climate controlled facility has lead Rutland High School to relocate its graduation ceremonies exclusively to the RRF. These events attract an additional 6000 people.
In 2006 the board realized the need for revisiting its vision and mission. As an organization we needed to move our focus from establishing a structure to ensuring that we are a positive long-standing organization. In addition to the opportunities we offer for adults and youth in recreation, the local economic potential is substantial. For example, one Hockey tournament alone can add $22,000.00 to the local economy with lodging, meals, entertainment, fees, gas and souvenirs for approximately forty families in our region for three days. Additionally the Rutland Regional Fieldhouse is home ice for the Castleton State College men's and women's hockey programs and draws hundreds of students and families into the Rutland area economy.
We are excited as we look to the future of the RRF. We look forward to expanding our programs to include in-line skating, additional community events such as the Sports and Fitness Exposition, a wrestling tournament, battle of the bands, new junior hockey tournaments and hockey camps just to name a few. We are also looking forward to working with the Rutland Recreation Authority to assist in finalizing plans for our community. The planning stages are underway and we look forward to having a second sheet of ice that our community can access within the next five years. Finally, we hope to finish the final stage of phase one to include completing our mezzanine level and completing our capital campaign.
RRFH Board of Directors
Phil Varney-President
Terry Moran-Vice President
Collin Fingon-Treasurer
John Feenick
John Hamilton
Josh Lemieux
Craig Paiement
Karen Reilly
Marge Bloomer
Lainnie M. LaCroix
Ron Slusarczyk
Meet the Fieldhouse Staff
Executive Director
Craig King
director@rrfh.org
Craig brings eight years of Ice Arena facility management experience to the Fieldhouse. He previously managed arenas in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and most recently in Lakeville Minnesota. Craig is a 1992 graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and was a defenseman on the Mens' hockey team that won three consecutive NCAA D-III national championship teams for the Pointers from 1989-91. He also served as head coach for Manitowoc Boys high school hockey for five years. Craig was born and raised in Minnesota, his wife Nancy and two children Hunter and Kelsey look forward to becoming an active part of the community.
Programming and Marketing Coordinator
Richie McKenna
programming@rrfh.org
As a recent graduate of Castleton State College, with a BS in Business Administration/Marketing Richie is one of our newer employees. Aside from his education he brings to the Fieldhouse his experience in Hockey (13 years) most recently with Castleton and is also the Assistant Coach of Rutland High School's Men's Team. He is energetic and enthusiastic about making the programs at the Fieldhouse top rate.
Operations Manager
Dave Manfredi
operations@rrfh.org
Dave has worked at the Fieldhouse for the past 2 years in the fields of ice maintenance and General Managing. And was recently promoted to the position of Operations Manager. Originally from Rochester, New York Dave has been in the Vermont region for over 15 years. He has over 10 years of rink experience at all levels and also runs a Speed Skating program at the Fieldhouse supported by Green Mountain Speed Skating Club.
Ice Maintenance/Operations
Todd Widli
Todd has been crafting our ice at the Rutland Regional Fieldhouse since the doors opened in 2005, and is known to sneak in at all hours of the night to edge, shave and level to ensure a quality surface for those that use our ice. Outside of his duties here he also coaches the Black Ice Hockey Team.
Kyle Bourgeois
Is currently a student at Castleton State College and has been a valued employee at the Fieldhouse as well as intern (through CSC) for 2 years. He is our lead guy for Teen Night and runs a tight ship, as well as being a role model for our younger part time staff members.
Brian Smith
Another proud graduate of Castleton State College, Brian is our "jack-of-all-trades" and an excellent support staff for Dave. Brian is also a hockey guy and currently plays recreationally for our men's league but previously had a successful run playing on the Varsity Squad for North Country Community College.
