Hartmeyer Ice Arena
| "The Hart" | |
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| Location | 1834 Commercial Avenue Madison, Wisconsin 53704 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°06′26″N 89°21′38″W / 43.10723°N 89.36042°WCoordinates: 43°06′26″N 89°21′38″W / 43.10723°N 89.36042°W |
| Operator | Madison Ice, Inc. |
| Capacity | 3,500 |
| Surface | Ice |
| Opened | 1960 |
| Tenants | |
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Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA) (1963–1967) Madison/Wisconsin Capitals (USHL) (1984–1995) Madison Ice Muskies (AAHL) (2009–2010) Wisconsin Wolfpack (CIFL) (2010) Wisconsin Whalers (NA3HL) (2013–2015) |
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Hartmeyer Ice Arena is a 3,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Madison, Wisconsin. It has ice surfaces for hockey, figure skating and open skating, but can also have the ice removed for other events, such as indoor football.
The building was constructed to play host to the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team, but only served that purpose for four years before the team moved to the Dane County Coliseum, now known as the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of the Alliant Energy Center.
The arena is sometimes called "The Hart."
The Hartmeyer Arena was constructed by Fenton Kelsey, Jr., a Madison business owner and avid hockey supporter. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, University of Wisconsin Athletics Director Ivan Williamson grew to enjoy watching youth hockey in Madison and began envisioning bringing the sport back to the varsity level at the university, which had not formally fielded a team since 1934. Sensing the need for a stadium-like facility were such a team to come to fruition, Kelsey stepped up to construct the Hartmeyer Ice Arena in 1960.
In 1962, the university agreed to pick up hockey again and fielded a team by posting fliers around campus. The team played its first game in front of 695 fans at the Hartmeyer, losing to St. Mary's of Winona, Minn., 13-6.
Wisconsin Hockey grew quickly and spectator demand soon strained the capacity of the arena. While legendary coach Bob Johnson led the team through his first season at the helm, construction neared completion on the Dane County Coliseum, which featured a multi-purpose design capable of hosting hockey and a capacity almost three times that of the Hartmeyer. The Badgers would move their hockey program to the Coliseum for the 1967-1968 season and play there until moving to the Kohl Center in 1998, winning five NCAA and 11 WCHA championships in that span.
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