So, he did. Shelley and fellow CBJ alumnus and broadcaster Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre as well as CBJ mascot Stinger stepped on the renovated surface at the park and played street hockey with the 30 or so kids from the Adams Community Center on Tuesday, part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the revitalized park.
The Chris and Lori Holtmann Foundation, named for the Ohio State men’s basketball coach and his wife, contributed to a three-hoop basketball court next to the CBJ rink, while the Columbus Crew built a futsal court with goals on the other side.
Columbus mayor Andy Ginther was present for the ceremony, which he pointed to as a win-win partnership between three of the major sports organizations in the city as well as Columbus Parks and Recreation.
“We talk about the Columbus Way being a great thing for economic development and job creation and downtown revitalization, but it’s also a great thing for neighborhoods,” Ginther said. “This is another perfect example of folks coming together and making sure that we’re putting our kids and our families and our neighborhoods first. I’m just grateful to the Blue Jackets and the Holtmanns and everybody that made this a reality.”
The Blue Jackets’ investment in Krumm Park is much more than just the $100,000-plus that went into the park’s renovation, which was awarded as part of the 2023-24 grant cycle. The organization partnered with Columbus Recreation and Parks in 2009 to build the rink, and another gift from the Blue Jackets Foundation in 2014 allowed the park to reopen after it had been shuttered because of budget cuts.
Krumm Park is one of four street hockey rinks built in Columbus city parks with funding by the Blue Jackets Foundation, which also finished a series of eight CBJ-themed playgrounds around Columbus last summer. It's all thanks to the generosity of Blue Jackets partners and fans through events like the annual Golf Classic, Cannonball, game auctions and 50-50 drawings.
"As the foundation, we invest in and partner with organizations that are doing amazing work in our community,” said Andee Cochren, executive director of the CBJ Foundation. “This surface right here has been in this city and in the community for over 10 years. It’s been great to be able to work with the city to refurbish it so kids have a safe place to play, and we also have playgrounds we’ve been building with the city. They’ve been a tremendous partner and we have loved our longstanding support.”
If Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting is any indication, the facilities will be used. Once the ceremony concluded, kids took over all three surfaces, including playing hockey for close to an hour with CBJ staff and alumni using sticks and balls provided by the foundation.
“Whenever you can get a child outside of the home and off the sofa, as we say, and doing some physical activity, it’s great,” said Bernita Reese, director of Columbus Recreation and Parks. “Hockey runs you up and down the court. You’re actively using your legs, you’re using your arms, and then there’s some social skills also at work – you have to be able to communicate with your teammates and you also have to think about the strategies of, how do I get it in the net. There are so many benefits.”
Looking at the kids enjoying their time on the Krumm Park playground, Cochren couldn’t help but think about how the impact of the Blue Jackets Foundation already was on full display.
“This is great, to be able to see our investment in the city of Columbus come to life like this,” Cochren said. “It’s been an incredible day.”
