Ice Is Nice
ADAMS TWP — While the Pittsburgh Curling Club did not break ground in the summer on its new curling-only facility on Myoma Road, the club president said the project is still in the works.
“It definitely is still our plan,” club President Steve Buffington said of the facility to be between the railroad tracks and Breakneck Creek on the north side of Myoma Road. “Fundraising is going slower than expected.”
Buffington last year said that the club needed to raise about $400,000 of the $1.3 million cost of the four-lane curling facility to augment the bank loan and corporate sponsorships the club has lined up.
At that time, the nonprofit club expected to receive government grants and contributions from foundations, which did not happen.
“So, all of our fundraising is coming from internal events,” Buffington said.
He said each event brings in about $1,000 to $1,500.
The club practices and competes at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center on Neville Island, in Allegheny County.
Buffington said a revised plan for chilling the ice at the new facility could reduce the $400,000 funding gap to $150,000.
He said a curling club in Fort Wayne, Ind., installed ice coils on top of the concrete pad where the lanes were built, as opposed to having the coils inside the concrete.
“We are looking at construction cost savings with the coils on top of the concrete,” Buffington said.
He said an ice chiller has been donated by a curling club in Rochester, N.Y., after it upgraded.
“The curling community really looks out for each other,” Buffington said, “and when used equipment becomes available, it is always put out on the curling network.”
Many of the 105-member club's new curlers live in the southern Butler County and northern Allegheny County areas, Buffington said.“People are saying (the new facility) will be right around the corner once we move,” he said.Mac Purvis of Mars is a longtime member of the Pittsburgh Curling Club. Purvis, who owns the Mars-based company, Purvis Brothers, donated the nearly four acres where the facility will be built.He said he and his fellow curlers want the new site up and running.“Our club is very dedicated and still enthusiastic about getting our own facility,” Purvis said.He said club members' energy has not waned regarding fundraising.“It's just a matter of time, and we continue to plug away at it,” Purvis said.He said a summer 2015 construction plan might be better because the state Department of Transportation spent last summer building a new bridge across Breakneck Creek beside the club's property. The bridge project might have impacted the construction of the curling facility or vice versa.Purvis said residents seem to approve of the curling project in Adams.“The people I talk to in the area think it will be a nice addition to the community,” he said.If necessary, Buffington said the number of lanes in the facility also could be reduced from four, but that is not the plan now.“The plan is moving forward, but fundraising is really the stumbling block right now,” Buffington said.For information on the Pittsburgh Curling Club or to make a donation, log on to www.pittsburghcurlingclub.com.
