Des Moines, IA -- The Bucs are getting a new arena.
The empty Younkers store at Merle Hay is about to become the new sports arena for the Des Moines Buccaneers hockey team, with 3,500 seats.
"We want our fans on top of the ice." Nate Teut, President of the Bucs tells Emery Songer on NewsRadio 1040 WHO.
"We want this to be an intimate, intimidating place for visiting teams to come play, so we're going to have to incorporate all that.
"So, I don't know what exactly all the amenities will be yet, but I do know it'll be an exciting place for our fans and the community to come."
The Buccaneers' former ice arena in Urbandale was badly damaged by the derecho storm last summer and they've been using the Wells Fargo Arena. The storm peeled off most the shingles on the roof, exposing and damaging the plywood underneath, and forced the team to move.
Teut says the plan include three additional sheets of ice, for a total of four.
"That will open up unbelievable amounts of doors to have youth events here in Des Moines, which obviously sparks restaurants and retail and hotel rooms, and everything else that goes with it." He says.
The new Bucs arena is expected to be ready for play for the 2021-22 season.
Architectural drawings from Des Moines Buccaneers.