Springfield ice rink renamed in honor of Stan Melton
Stan Melton stands above with the plaque commemorating the east rink’s dedication to his efforts to establish ice hockey in Springfield and at Missouri State University.
January 27, 2016
Charlea Mills
After years of dedication and commitment to the Missouri State Ice Bears hockey team and Springfield’s ice park, Stan Melton received a surprising honor last Friday. When he arrived at the ice park in downtown Springfield, the entire Springfield Park Board, the board president, and others were gathered to bestow a huge honor on Stan. As of Friday, the ice rink at the Mediacom Ice Park that the Ice Bears play on has been renamed the Stan Melton Ice Rink.
As humble as Melton is about the whole ordeal, hearing the story behind how the Mediacom Ice Park was built and how the Ice Bears were started makes it obvious as to why the name switch occurred. Without him, there would not be a collegiate hockey team in Springfield.
It began in 1997 when the Springfield Park Board began working on a project to get an ice rink in the planning stages for the city. Melton, who had been friends with park board president Dan Kinney for a number of years, had told him that he wanted to be involved if an ice rink was in the works. After surveys were completed by the city, it was apparent that citizens wanted an ice skating rink and the board moved forward with the plan.
Melton said, “I told Dan if there was ever a possibility for an ice park that I wanted to help get the facility here.” He started a citizen’s community board whose goal would be to get the support in the community for the park to come to fruition. Melton worked for six months to get 30 members on the committee.
By 1999, the parks system had a bond measure on the ballot to institute an additional hotel/motel tax that would fund the then named-Jordan Valley Ice Park as well as a few other facilities. The tax passed with an overwhelming margin of around 70 percent. Once plans began, Melton said, “We told them we wanted to either get a professional hockey team or another hockey team, but when we found out it was going to be too small of a park for a pro team, I came up with the idea to get a collegiate team going at Missouri State, as well as men’s and youth leagues.”
The park board broke ground on the ice park in 2000, and Melton continued, “It was then that we started putting together a team.”
Melton funded the initial start up and took on the general manager position as a volunteer, a position he held until the 2015-2016 season when he stepped down to take care of his father, Senator Emory Melton, when he became ill.
It took a year for Melton to get the equipment, figure out how they were going to sell tickets, and fund the team. Today, the Ice Bears costs around $200,000 to operate each year. Since they are a club team, they only qualify for $5,000 from MSU for funding. Funding was the major battle. Melton said, “We knew we could find enough students because we had so many kids from St. Louis at the college, and St. Louis has had high school ice hockey teams for 30 years.” For that first 2001-2002 season, there were 23 players on the roster.
So why was Melton so driven to bring ice hockey to Springfield? He said, “I’ve been addicted as a professional hockey fan since college in the early 70’s. So, I had a great desire to get ice hockey in Springfield.” After a friend took Stan to his first game, he was hooked for life.
Stan’s drive to make this team happen was unparalleled. He knew that if they wanted to keep the team, they had to treat it like a professional team. He said, “Funds come from ticket sales and sponsors as well as our merchandise sales, just like a pro team. We’re lucky that hockey fans are incredibly loyal. Once you see it live, it’s addictive; television doesn’t do it justice.”
In their first season, they had around 200 to 300 in attendance per game. Now, they average between 900 and 1,000 fans each game in a rink that has a capacity of 1,100. Melton said, “It’s the highest paid attendance of all of the sports at MSU, and that’s amazing for a club team. And 25 percent are season ticket holders.”
The hard work invested by Melton, the staff and the players has resulted in back-to-back years where the Ice Bears won their regional tournament and played in the Nationals. Last season, they placed 12th out of the 16 teams at nationals. The year before, they placed sixth. That means that out of 200 teams, the Ice Bears were ranked 12 last year and six the year before. Last year, they moved up to become a Division 1 team.
Melton said, “It’s really amazing to see us go from start up to where we are now. It’s taken a lot of hard work from everybody to get here.”
When the rink was revealed to be renamed after Melton, he was surprised to say the least. He knew he was getting an award, but it wasn’t until their announcer began that he realized how monumental it was. He said, “I was absolutely in total shock. I could not believe I was being honored in that way, having the ice rink named after me. I knew I was going to get some kind of a plaque or award, but when I saw all of the park board there, I still wasn’t sure what was going on.”
Melton continued, “I about fell over I was in such total shock and completed humbled. It was an amazing feeling. I just did what I could be doing because of where my heart was. I love hockey.”
Melton doesn’t begin to take credit for everything with the team. He said, “The naming doesn’t just mean me, but the players, the coaches, and volunteer managers who put in all of the work. I want to thank my wife, Cindy, for letting me put in the full time work to make this happen. She was kind enough to allow me to make this basically a full-time unpaid job. And I want to thank the Springfield Park Board and parks management for approving this huge honor.
“I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Melton was born and raised in Cassville, the son of the late Emory and Jean Melton. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Fremont Hills near Springfield where Stan continues to be assistant to the general manager for the Ice Bears and goes to every hockey game he can.
Charlea Mills
After years of dedication and commitment to the Missouri State Ice Bears hockey team and Springfield’s ice park, Stan Melton received a surprising honor last Friday. When he arrived at the ice park in downtown Springfield, the entire Springfield Park Board, the board president, and others were gathered to bestow a huge honor on Stan. As of Friday, the ice rink at the Mediacom Ice Park that the Ice Bears play on has been renamed the Stan Melton Ice Rink.
As humble as Melton is about the whole ordeal, hearing the story behind how the Mediacom Ice Park was built and how the Ice Bears were started makes it obvious as to why the name switch occurred. Without him, there would not be a collegiate hockey team in Springfield.
It began in 1997 when the Springfield Park Board began working on a project to get an ice rink in the planning stages for the city. Melton, who had been friends with park board president Dan Kinney for a number of years, had told him that he wanted to be involved if an ice rink was in the works. After surveys were completed by the city, it was apparent that citizens wanted an ice skating rink and the board moved forward with the plan.
Melton said, “I told Dan if there was ever a possibility for an ice park that I wanted to help get the facility here.” He started a citizen’s community board whose goal would be to get the support in the community for the park to come to fruition. Melton worked for six months to get 30 members on the committee.
By 1999, the parks system had a bond measure on the ballot to institute an additional hotel/motel tax that would fund the then named-Jordan Valley Ice Park as well as a few other facilities. The tax passed with an overwhelming margin of around 70 percent. Once plans began, Melton said, “We told them we wanted to either get a professional hockey team or another hockey team, but when we found out it was going to be too small of a park for a pro team, I came up with the idea to get a collegiate team going at Missouri State, as well as men’s and youth leagues.”
The park board broke ground on the ice park in 2000, and Melton continued, “It was then that we started putting together a team.”
Melton funded the initial start up and took on the general manager position as a volunteer, a position he held until the 2015-2016 season when he stepped down to take care of his father, Senator Emory Melton, when he became ill.
It took a year for Melton to get the equipment, figure out how they were going to sell tickets, and fund the team. Today, the Ice Bears costs around $200,000 to operate each year. Since they are a club team, they only qualify for $5,000 from MSU for funding. Funding was the major battle. Melton said, “We knew we could find enough students because we had so many kids from St. Louis at the college, and St. Louis has had high school ice hockey teams for 30 years.” For that first 2001-2002 season, there were 23 players on the roster.
So why was Melton so driven to bring ice hockey to Springfield? He said, “I’ve been addicted as a professional hockey fan since college in the early 70’s. So, I had a great desire to get ice hockey in Springfield.” After a friend took Stan to his first game, he was hooked for life.
Stan’s drive to make this team happen was unparalleled. He knew that if they wanted to keep the team, they had to treat it like a professional team. He said, “Funds come from ticket sales and sponsors as well as our merchandise sales, just like a pro team. We’re lucky that hockey fans are incredibly loyal. Once you see it live, it’s addictive; television doesn’t do it justice.”
In their first season, they had around 200 to 300 in attendance per game. Now, they average between 900 and 1,000 fans each game in a rink that has a capacity of 1,100. Melton said, “It’s the highest paid attendance of all of the sports at MSU, and that’s amazing for a club team. And 25 percent are season ticket holders.”
The hard work invested by Melton, the staff and the players has resulted in back-to-back years where the Ice Bears won their regional tournament and played in the Nationals. Last season, they placed 12th out of the 16 teams at nationals. The year before, they placed sixth. That means that out of 200 teams, the Ice Bears were ranked 12 last year and six the year before. Last year, they moved up to become a Division 1 team.
Melton said, “It’s really amazing to see us go from start up to where we are now. It’s taken a lot of hard work from everybody to get here.”
When the rink was revealed to be renamed after Melton, he was surprised to say the least. He knew he was getting an award, but it wasn’t until their announcer began that he realized how monumental it was. He said, “I was absolutely in total shock. I could not believe I was being honored in that way, having the ice rink named after me. I knew I was going to get some kind of a plaque or award, but when I saw all of the park board there, I still wasn’t sure what was going on.”
Melton continued, “I about fell over I was in such total shock and completed humbled. It was an amazing feeling. I just did what I could be doing because of where my heart was. I love hockey.”
Melton doesn’t begin to take credit for everything with the team. He said, “The naming doesn’t just mean me, but the players, the coaches, and volunteer managers who put in all of the work. I want to thank my wife, Cindy, for letting me put in the full time work to make this happen. She was kind enough to allow me to make this basically a full-time unpaid job. And I want to thank the Springfield Park Board and parks management for approving this huge honor.
“I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Melton was born and raised in Cassville, the son of the late Emory and Jean Melton. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Fremont Hills near Springfield where Stan continues to be assistant to the general manager for the Ice Bears and goes to every hockey game he can.
