First curling-only facility in Anderson set to open Sunday
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Curling, a sport called “chess on ice” by some, has a new home in Madison County.
The Circle City Curling Club, a nonprofit founded in 2007, is opening the first curling-only facility in Anderson.
Over the past year, 40 volunteers worked together to build the new facility. The club’s members say it took 61 tons of stone to be leveled out by hand and required over 10,000 pounds of concrete for the building’s foundation. Ten thousand gallons of water were needed to build out the ice.
Organizers say this new facility is a long time coming. Over the last 15 years, the club has rented out hockey rinks around the greater Indianapolis area while raising money to build a dedicated curling facility.
Ernie Forney, project manager, met with News 8’s Amicia Ramsey to talk about the project.
“We took possession of the site last February and it was 10 months of work almost every day — five days, sometimes six days a week. But it all came together. On the first Friday in December, we had our club’s grand opening, which was great — a lot of fun. And then, on Sunday, we have our public open house. Hopefully, we’ll attract a lot of people and sign up a whole bunch of new people for our club and bring curling to central Indiana.”
Forney says having a dedicated location for curling is a much better experience than using a hockey rink.
“Curling on hockey ice is like putting in your backyard; you can do it, but it’s just it’s not a lot of fun. Curling ice is a lot more pristine than hockey ice and you can get the stones to do a lot more things, what you want the stones to do. So it just brings our curling up to a new level,” Forney said.
The club will host a grand opening ceremony and open house on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The curling facility is located at 1735 W. 53rd St., Unit 3A, in Anderson.
The mayor of Anderson, Thomas Broderick Jr., and the Madison County Chamber of Commerce will be on hand for Sunday’s grand opening. The community is invited to stop by to watch curling, throw a few stones, and sign up for upcoming ‘Learn to Curl’ clinics.
Visit the Circle City Curling Club website to learn more or sign up for a league.
