Gulls migrate to new facility in Poway

Poway Ice Arena CEO Nish Mehta wanted things to be perfect before the San Diego Gulls had their first practice in their new facility. The consensus from the players Tuesday morning was that he succeeded.

The Gulls were impressed with their new $4 million practice arena in Poway, giving it glowing reviews after coming off the ice for a break during their first practice in the NHL-sized rink located at 12455 Kerran St. in Poway.

“This is just a state-of-the-art facility and there are not many like it in the country, even at the NHL level,” said Gulls team captain Joe Piskula. “We are all trying to get to the NHL, so you have to have a nice training facility to get there.”

Said Gulls forward Joseph Cramarossa: “You don’t want to put anyone else’s rink down, but I think if other teams saw it they would know this is definitely top tier.”

The hopes were that the Gulls, who are the top minor league hockey affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, would be practicing in their new arena by the second week of November. But there were a few minor delays, which pushed back the start date to early January.

“We obviously wanted to make sure the ice was perfect and the glass and boards were all buttoned up before they got in here,” said Smita, who looked on as some of the Gulls worked with skating coach Larry Barron. “It was all very nerve-wracking.”

Cramarossa said the wait was well worth it.

“The guys were counting down the days to get in here,” he said. “They had a few set backs, but seeing everything they have now it was well worth it. We are happy to have it.”

The Gulls, who are 17-12-0-1 and in second place in the Pacific Division, were practicing out of the Valley View Casino Center (formerly known as Sports Arena) and the Kroc Center in La Mesa. Players would have to get dressed at home and drive to practice. Their new facility has a huge locker room.

“I have been doing the dress and drive for a long time,” Cramarossa said. “This is going to be cool and real professional to drive down to practice without (gear on).”

The Gulls will be practicing in Poway almost every day they do not have a game. The arena, which also serves the community, has been open to the public since early November.