By Darlene Brace
The Northwest Arena in Jamestown is a multi-use facility that hosts public and private events throughout the year for people of all ages. It was opened in 2002 as part of an economic development initiative for downtown Jamestown and is located at 319 W 3rd St. in Jamestown, NY.
Northwest Arena offers public ice skating, learn to skate lessons, and is the home of the Jamestown Lakers Hockey Team and the Jamestown Skating Club. It also offers ice skating parties, adult hockey leagues, and hosts tournaments.
Backyard curling has become a very popular event at the Northwest Arena. Curling is played on the ice and is appropriate for people over the age of 18. They have curling leagues and currently have 92 curling teams. Private curling rentals for parties and instructional play sessions are available.
Another popular activity the arena has are bumper cars that glide over the ice. The bumper car ride includes brief safety instructions. Sometimes public bumper car sessions are scheduled for the community to participate in. The bumper cars can also be rented for a private party or events. Children must be at least 3 years old to ride.
A walking track is also available for community use and offers a cool and dry walking path year-round. The walking track is located around the perimeter of the ice arena and is appropriate for people of all ages. Running and the use of strollers is permitted. The walking track is available most days, but the hours may vary, so please check the website.
The Northwest Arena is available for school field trips. Schools can reserve a variety of field trips that may include stations of curling, ice skating, bumper cars, physical education games, and STEAM educational activities. These field trips are BOCES Aidable, which means the school pays for the field trip up front and are later reimbursed.
The Northwest Arena also includes the Jamestown Mattress Arena Club entertainment space,
a boardroom, and rooftop patio used for parties, conferences, and events. These spaces have hosted many community events. Recently the Love is the Air Wedding Show was held that had a variety of wedding vendors. On April 20, 2024, the arena will host the Grapes and Hops Festival, which is a wine and beer tasting event that has been held at the arena for many years. The last two years it’s also been the venue for the Scandinavian Festival, which will be held again in July 2024.
Moving forward, there’s great excitement and anticipation of the addition of “The Zone. The Zone is projected to be a 6200 sq. foot indoor play area for toddlers through teens. They are hoping to have an area for children ages 2 through 5, to engage with soft play equipment. The projected area for older children and teens is an open play area featuring hoops, balls, nets and other equipment and activities, as well as a massive Jumbotron. The Zone will offer the community and visitors a great experience accessible year-round. Once established, it’s estimated that it will draw over 40,000 visitors a year.
John Kinder, the program director of The Zone said, “The Zone is still in the planning stages. We are still trying to secure all the necessary funding, and we are getting closer to our goal. We are hoping for some state funding as well as from other sources. Once we get all the funding, we can move forward with our plans. We don’t have a date set yet, but we’re optimistic that we’ll have a grand opening in the near future.”
When asked about the mission of The Zone, John said, “The Zone will be a space like no other in Jamestown or the surrounding areas. It will be a nice community gem that people in the community can take full advantage of, and they can call their own.”
You can see that the Northwest Arena is a great venue, that is the site of much more than ice skating and hockey. If you have any questions about any activities, lessons, tournaments, field trips, events, or rentals call 716-484-2624. You can also look at northwesternarena.com and the arena Facebook page for updated information, and don’t forget to keep your eyes out for updated information on The Zone.