The Des Moines Buccaneers will play at the MidAmerican RecPlex in West Des Moines for at least one more season under the terms of a lease to be presented to the West Des Moines City Council.
The council was expected to approve the lease Monday, Oct. 6, for the United States Hockey League team’s 2025-26 season, which runs through April.
The Buccaneers in 2024 moved from their deteriorating arena in Urbandale, which is still used for high school and youth hockey, to the 1,500-seat Abel Ice Arena at the RecPlex after pulling out of a proposal to be a tenant for a planned arena at Merle Hay Mall. The Bucs, who have lobbied West Des Moines to build a new arena for the team at the RecPlex site, signed a lease there in February of this year.
The RecPlex opened in 2021 with two ice rinks, as well as a basketball/volleyball fieldhouse, an e-sports room and indoor and outdoor soccer facilities. In September West Des Moines received a $5 million Destination Iowa tourism grant to build a new $40 million arena and convention center at the RecPlex.
RecPlex General Manager Shayne Ratcliff said the RecPlex needs a larger space to host wrestling and volleyball tournaments.
Under terms presented to the City Council in a memo:
Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 or pjoens@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: West Des Moines’ RecPlex plans to host another season of Buccaneers hockey
Reporting by Philip Joens, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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