About the PCYHA

Park County Youth Hockey Association is a volunteer, nonprofit entity dedicated to providing a safe, fun environment for youth hockey, developing the skills of individuals and teams, and providing a cost efficient affordable sport for Park County youth. We are affiliated with USA Hockey Association

The PCYHA began informally in 1997-1998 when a group of hockey enthusiasts talked the Park County fair board into letting them construct a hockey rink in the Beef Barn on the fair grounds in Powell. It was not regulation size and the ice was natural -- or at least as natural as any you would find in a beef barn.
 

While it is difficult to know for sure, this was probably the only hockey organization in the country attempting to run a program in a beef barn. Skating started during a cold snap in January of 1998.

The hope was that the barn would provide shelter from the cold and winds. Unfortunately, as an uninsulated metal structure, it also turned into an oven on sunny days. Furthermore, Wyoming was entering a period of unusually warm weather. A web site hockey announcement in January of 1999 reported:

Rink conditions as of 1/16/99: liquid.
Powell remains under the influence of unseasonably warm weather. Highs in the
40's are predicted to last at least through Wednesday, the 21st.

The program only managed to have ice for about 10 practices that year. A group photo of a Squirt team taken in February shows the team and coaches kneeling in a quarter inch of water on the melting ice. It was the last practice of the year. After two frustrating seasons, it was clear that the program could not continue under these conditions. Hockey was put on hold for the 2000 season while members of the organization met to see if some alternative to the beef barn could be found.

Originally, the hope was to locate enough resources to construct a refrigerated outdoor rink. That focus changed in the early fall when Mike Maier recruited Victor Riley to help the group, which formally incorporated in the fall of 2000 as an Arena Board and began planning for a facility. The original members of that group were Mike Maier, Tom Fitzsimmons, Pat McConnell, Maureen Kewitt, Rob Koelling, Karen Riley, Victor Riley, John Krebes, Kevin Smith, and Dan Stamness.

Victor Riley's leadership and financial support suddenly meant that an enclosed facility was now possible. His negotiations with the City of Cody resulted in land being leased to the Arena Board next to the new Cody Recreation Center, his generous financial support covered a significant portion of the cost of the arena, and his financial expertise enabled the Board to obtain the rest of the financing for the facility.

The whole process was on a fast track. Board members were concerned that two seasons without hockey would mean that all momentum for the program would be lost. Construction on the Arena began in the spring of 2000, and a considerable amount of volunteer labor went into the building.

Once the building was finished, the Arena Board remained to oversee the year-round operation of the facility. The Park County Youth Hockey Association formally incorporated to run the hockey program in the arena. Cooperating closely, these two volunteer organizations continue to work to make this first class facility available to the people of Park County, Wyoming.