Army Strong

Tate Rink
Location: West Point, New York

Opened: 1985
Seating Capacity: 2,648

The next ice arena I will be examining is Tate Rink which is home to the United States Military Academy Black Knights.

The ice arena is located on the military base in West Point, NY. It was an awesome experience visiting one of the most prestigious academies in the United States for the first time. The base functions as its own secluded town in the hills of upstate New York. There are residential neighborhoods, a grocery store, gas station, academy classrooms, military training areas, athletic complexes, and of course, many cadets walking around the grounds with their backpacks that appear to be holding 200lbs.

The ice arena is attached to the basketball arena and the two arenas share a common concession area. Sitting across from the arena is an indoor football facility for Army's football team, and a special team's field aside that. Army has a beautiful weight room that is located next to Michie Stadium. Michie is their gorgeous football field. It is a neat setup to have so many athletic facilities within a few steps.

Tate Rink is a very cool arena to play in. It holds over 2500 hundred fans in black, plastic bleachers that rest on a concrete structure. The arena is very dark due to Army's dark gold, and black uniform colors but is visually appealing. It has a sleek appearance to it. There is a jumbo-tron resting over the center ice face-off dot that displays the score, shots, and penalties. There is also a massive digital screen located on one end of the arena which shows a live feed of the game and will display replays of previous action. The screen definitely helps keep the fans engaged in the game and the Army media team shoots at many different angles to give different perspectives of the game.

I have played four games at Tate Rink over the last two years and the arena has been nearly full of enthusiastic fans every time. The fans are very loyal to the Black Knights; likely because many attended the prestigious academy as well. There are usually four members of the band who bring their instruments onto the ice for the national anthem. They put hockey skates on and skate into Army's defensive zone to play the anthem in their uniforms. It is a unique version of the national anthem that is only fitting at this distinguished academy.

The ice surface is extremely hard and fast, which makes for a good pace of play. Unlike the boards in my last post, at the Harborcenter, the boards at Tate are some of the firmest that I have ever played in. The glass doesn't flex at all when players are checked into it, resulting in unforgiving and violent hits. I believe the arena's lights were replaced in the previous five years. The new lighting system is very bright and lights up the rink effectively.

Playing on the military base increased my respect for those who not only play athletics for Army, but the students who endure the grueling training and education required by Army West Point. I would have to admit, that playing on these grounds is one my favorite memories of my collegiate career thus far.

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