Other Activities at the Pepsi Ice Center

Field Trips, Youth Groups, Church Groups, etc: we offer private rentals for these groups. Come in to have a private skating party where only your group is allowed on the ice.  Please call 309/434.2875 for more information and to schedule your ice event. Private Ice Fee is $195 an hour.  Skate Rental is $2 per skater that needs skates.  Broomball Equipment Rental is $40 for the event.

BroomBall ... What the heck is BroomBall?
Broomball is a sport played on an outdoor rink or in an ice arena, mostly during winter. The game has rules and formations very similar to hockey, but involves some strategies from soccer as well. Playing with two teams, six players on each side (two defensemen, three forwards and a goalie), the object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team. Using sticks (a shaft with a molded broom-shaped head), players maneuver a six-inch diameter ball up and down the ice.

Players wear spongy-soled shoes, instead of hockey skates, to gain traction when running of the ice surface. There are currently 26 states that offer organized broomball leagues. Broomball is extremely popular with sports teams, such as volleyball, basketball and softball. For slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball leagues, it is an opportunity to remain active and keep the team together off season.

Other interesting facts
Often times, broomball is confused with curling, which is played with a stone. When broomball was first developed, it was played with real brooms. Players would dip a corn broom into water, freeze it, and then tape the broom solid. Many people think broomball players have shoes with suction cups on them. There are no suction cups, only holes designed to collect snow when playing outdoors. There are two kinds of shoes. There is the outdoor variety, as mentioned and the indoor variety, which has a patterned design, but no holes. Both types of shoes have spongy soles that increase traction over regular shoes.