TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Along I-10 near Kino a lot of workers are working through the heat to build a cool—and we mean that literally—a cool place to experience an unusual sport in the desert. Mosaic Quarter is preparing to host ice hockey and plenty of other sports.
Driving along I-10 you can tell something big is going up near the Kino Sports Complex.
It’s Mosaic Quarter, a large complex designed for a wide range of sports. Its’ most unexpected feature for someplace in a hot southwestern desert is an Iceplex, with two ice rinks able to host ice hockey and other ice sports.
Developer Frank Knott says a typical large rink complex might use nine thousand gallons of drinkable water per day just to keep the ice in good shape, but the Iceplex at Mosaic Quarter is set up to capture, store and purify stormwater collected on the site and use reclaimed water from Pima County as needed.
“So that when we're making ice for the Iceplex, so anytime a Zamboni is out resurfacing the ice, and you're seeing water, none of that water is coming from the aquifer. None of it's coming from the water system. It's all reclaimed, filtered and reused.”
Knott says he took the extra step of digging deeper than usual, then re-packing the earth. He says it will make already stable foundation sites even more stable as extra insurance against settling and cracking decades from now.
The Iceplex is set to open in March 2027.
Just a few months later the Field house should be ready to host basketball, volleyball, pickleball and indoor soccer.
Later the complex will add hotel space and restaurants to strengthen an attraction designed to be a strong draw for people from across the region and country, and from down the street.
Frank Knott says it’s great to see the result of years of work finally coming out of the ground and he’s looking forward to the day the puck drops for that first hockey game.
“I think it would probably be a pretty emotional moment just to see that happen, see the joy on fans' faces, see the joy on the university players, the coaches, staff, and just to see everybody having a wonderful time in Tucson, enjoying something.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
