Rostraver Ice Garden In The Running For Big Prize
ROSTRAVER (KDKA) -- Valentine's Day, 2010. The roof of Rostraver Ice Garden collapses under the weight of a heavy snowfall.
It would take eight months to repair the damage.
Seven years later, owner Jim Murphy can't forget the day the roof collapsed.
Astonishingly, he says, "We had 400 people in the building. No one was injured. The four teams were either coming on or going off the ice, and they were in the locker room when the three trusses came down."
At the time of the roof collapse, trusses were made of laminated redwood. Since then, they've been injected with space-age polymers and covered with steel, in hopes that such an event will never happen again.
Though the building was insured, and he had community support, the owner incurred huge debts. But he was determined to rebuild.
Now, 10 rinks across the nation are in the running for a large grant from Kraft Hockeyville. One of them is the Rostraver Ice Garden.
Supporters have until Thursday to vote.
At that point, Murphy says, "Five of them will be eliminated. And then, it's my understanding, that those five that are eliminated will receive a $10,000 grant. And then there will be three more days of voting."
The eventual winner gets $150,000 for improvements.
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Murphy says the Ice Garden would put it to good use.
"It would be money that would be dedicated to a good cause. So we need your help," he said.
If you would like to vote for the Rostraver Ice Garden, visit https://www.krafthockeyville.com/. You can vote up to 100 times per day.