Traverse City Curling Club

4 dedicated sheets of ice, ice-making equipment, a dedicated bar, lounge, offices, locker rooms, and more.

In 2017, Cara Colburn was elected Club President with the directive to establish a dedicated ice facility that would support its mission of building a strong community through the sport of curling. As word of the club’s goal of dedicated ice became increasingly public, local entrepreneurs and club members Lowell Gruman and Kevin Byrne stepped up and agreed to spearhead the effort to build a new curling center. The dedicated Ice Committee was thus formed. In 2018 the club engaged a consultant to conduct a full feasibility study, which provided the encouragement in 2019 to purchase property and engage an architect to draw up plans.

With the arrival of the pandemic in 2020, progress on the project was in danger of stalling out. As the Dedicated Ice Committee struggled to meet in person, the effects of the global supply chain jam were being felt with dramatically increased construction costs and unavailability of key materials. It was with great regret that the club abandoned its plan for a new curling center building in November of 2021, as projected costs had doubled from the initial estimate.

Undaunted, the stalwart few at the committee pivoted towards building a curling facility within an existing structure, and in June 2022 the club was able to acquire the abandoned Cherryland Kmart building. A unique financing structure that attracted donors, grantors, lenders, investors and guarantors was put in place to revitalize the entire property and create a world class 5-sheet curling center for Traverse City and the surrounding area.

In January of 2023, the Traverse City Curling Center opened its doors to community curling in a best-in-class dedicated ice facility. The facility became a testament to what can be done when a group of passionate, resourceful and community-minded people get behind a dream.