Rally for the Rink! We need you!
Our kids are our community. For decades, families in CNY have called Lysander ice rink, now The Three Rivers Athletic Complex (The TRAC), home. Memories have been forged on ice for countless figure skaters, hockey players (young and old), and youth during open skates. The faces of kids running through hallways, teens holding hands while skating, families in bleachers, and athletes pushing their limits have changed, but the rink has always been here for us.
This staple in Baldwinsville is slipping. In 2024, a Save the Rink campaign was launched and raised over $70K in a short time to bolster its second sheet of ice. Unforeseen circumstances (and costs) resulted in that ice having to be permanently taken down and used instead for dry recreation: corn hole, ball hockey, lacrosse and roller derby.
In 2025, The TRAC’s building came under new ownership. Lysander Youth Hockey and all entities who use the facility are looking to ensure their future at 2725 West Entry Road in Radisson, NY. At a time when youth sports are becoming privatized and profit driven, we are looking to keep hold of a local rink that provides a true service. The building is more than boards and ice. It’s where many have learned to be early, to be accountable, to shake hands whether they won or lost, and to get up after falling.
Now, parents and grandparents coach their children, furthering the rink’s hold on our collective memory. Tim Neer, a lifelong hockey player who first skated at Lysander as a child, coaches his 3-year-old in Lysander Youth Hockey’s learn-to-skate program. While lacing his son’s skates up steps away from the same ice he once played on, Neer shared, “This rink has shaped who I am. Now I get to watch my son grow here, too. Losing it would mean losing something irreplaceable for so many families.”
In this ‘25-‘26 season, 180 Lysander Youth Hockey players, 200 Syracuse Figuring Skating Club members, 26 Baldwinsville Varsity Hockey athletes, 120 Syracuse Selects hockey players, 40 Learn-to-skate novices and multiple adult hockey leagues, clinic and camp participants, open skate and pond hockey stakeholders, and countless competitors in the broader community take advantage of ice at The TRAC. The Lysander Youth Hockey Association (LYHA), which keeps The TRAC ice alive, is facing serious financial strain. Rising energy delivery costs, aging infrastructure, and shrinking margins have put the rink at risk.
While LYHA has a vision for a sustainable future, it needs immediate help to remediate financial obligations and pave a smooth path for years to come. We have until April 1, 2026 to show we can continue to sustain Lysander’s TRAC. If we can rally to raise $150,000, this will trigger two private donations – each committed $10,000 in additional funds to show their community how invested they are in keeping ice in Lysander.
Donors can use Raise365 for credit card donations or directly Venmo @LYHA-TRAC with “Rink donation” as the memo. Lysander Youth Hockey is a 501(c) non-profit organization. Thank you for giving, for sharing widely, and for helping our local kids and their future kids.
For more information on Raise 365 or how to contribute, contact Tiffany Wallon: sponsors@lysanderhockey.com.
