Prairie Lakes held a special announcement event for employees and staff on Wednesday, September 7th to announce that Prairie Lakes will be the Naming Rights sponsor of the new ice arena being constructed in Watertown. It will be named the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. Later that day, the City of Watertown publicly revealed the Naming Rights at the groundbreaking event.
“This sponsorship supports the Prairie Lakes mission and vision of leading a healthy and active community,” said Robb Peterson, Board Chairman at Prairie Lakes. “The Ice Arena will provide many positive opportunities for improved well-being of the community as a whole for years to come.”
As part of the community benefit requirements to maintain tax exempt status as a not-for-profit organization, Prairie Lakes has a responsibility to the community to support health, wellness, and active lifestyles for the overall well-being of the population we serve.
"This is a great partnership between the City of Watertown and Prairie Lakes. The Ice Arena is part of our commitment in helping to provide the people in the community with a positive quality of life and new opportunities," said Paul Macek, Interim CEO at Prairie Lakes. “We are proud to support the Watertown community and appreciate the support the community and surrounding communities provide to our growing health care system.”
The arena will be located in the Willow Creek development on the east side of Watertown. The arena will have two NHL-sized sheets of ice with the building design fitted for a potential expansion to house a third sheet of ice. The spectator capacity is 1,523 for the main rink and 250 for the practice ice. There will also be spaces to rent out for events, conferences, and parties.
The Prairie Lakes Healthcare System Board of Directors agreed to finalize the naming rights agreement for the Ice Arena for $3.5 million for a term of 35 years with an additional $1 million community benefit donation. The funds will be used by the City to support capital costs of the arena. Prairie Lakes will receive sponsorship benefits. An agreement was also approved for Prairie Lakes to be the official "Orthopedic and Sports Medicine" sponsor of the Ice Arena.
