The new facility will seat 300 spectators. It will have modern locker rooms, a warm-up studio, a reception area and a vending café. It will also have the space to eventually add a second NHL-sized ice sheet that will better enable it to host tournaments, camps and figure skating competitions.
More important, the new facility will give the Ducks, a team distinguished by its pink and black jerseys, a place of their own.
The fire forced the team to practice and play at odd hours at rinks 30 miles or more from the Tucker Road Rink, causing commuting and scheduling hardships for some players and parents.
"It's been pretty tough bouncing back and forth to different ice rinks, different times, different practices," said Drew Robinson, a 16-year-old Ducks defenseman. "It wasn't too inconvenient for me because I love hockey, so I do whatever it takes to get to a rink."
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks, Recreation of Prince George's County did what it could to try to mitigate the pain, helping to arrange ice time at nearby rinks and producing a video last year to help the Ducks recruit players and let the community know that the team was still active despite losing its rink.
"We've tried to make sure that they've had our support over the past two years," said Kira Calm Lewis, a spokeswoman for Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation. "The Ducks were in such a situation that we felt we should give them some additional support."