On Tuesday, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $275 million deal that would change Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx into the Kingsbridge National Ice Center — a 750,000 sq. ft. winter sports facility, complete with nine regulation playing surfaces on two levels. The center is designed to host ice shows and tournaments. The main rink will have seating for 5,000 people, and the center may be used as a practice rink for NHL teams.

Members of the college hockey community speculated that one of the nearby colleges will consider adding hockey as an NCAA varsity sport. Fordham University is only a half mile away from the armory, and nearby Columbia University is one of only two members of the Ivy League without a varsity ice hockey team.

Artist mock-ups of the ice center are impressive:

The center is expected to open in 2017.