Merced youth score big, as San Jose Sharks foundation unveils tealtop hockey court
Merced youth who have dreams of playing on a hockey team — or just having a little fun learning the rules of the rink — now have a place to score those life goals.
Better yet, that place comes with the official endorsement of a professional hockey organization.
Merced city officials on Wednesday joined representatives from the El Capitan Hotel/The Mainzer and the Sharks Foundation to unveil a new tealtop street hockey court in Applegate Park.
The foundation is the charity arm of the the San Jose Sharks professional hockey team. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday afternoon with the help of former Sharks players Devin Setoguchi and Scott Hannan and San Jose mascot Sharkie.
Members of the Boys & Girls Club of Merced County then took to the court for the first game.
“As a mom and a parent of kids who play sports, I can’t tell you how important it is for us to continue to bring new and nontraditional opportunities for our kids,” said City Manager Stephanie Dietz.
“It’s time for us to expose everyone to bigger and better things and we’re so happy the San Jose Sharks saw an opportunity here in the City of Merced to come and invest in us.”
It was the management team at the El Capitan Hotel in Merced that came up with the idea of approaching the Sharks Foundation about bringing a hockey court to Merced shortly after the hotel opened a year ago.
The Shark Foundation had built similar tealtop hockey courts in the Bay Area.
The Merced court is the 13th tealtop hockey court the Sharks Foundation has built. The court was made possible by a $25,000 donation to the Sharks Foundation by Sara Johnson Kerrest and Frederic Kerrest.
Robin Donovan, who is the managing director at the El Capitan Hotel and The Mainzer, said her team jumped at the opportunity to do something for the youth of Merced.
“Everybody got on board and we just knew this is something you might see in the Bay Area, but Merced youth deserves opportunities like this, to have the same experiences as large cities,” Donovan said.
Merced Mayor Mattew Serratto said during his presentation Wednesday that he talked with Sharks Sports & Entertainment President Jonathan Becher about possibly getting a hold of the Golden State Warriors to resurface the basketball court that sits next to the new tealtop hocket court.
Serratto says the new hockey court is a great addition to Applegate Park.
“The way it beautifies this, the way that it invests in this park,” Serratto said. “This park is so important to Merced, being in so many ways our central park, our main park with the zoo there, the amusement park and everything else. It really provides a catalyst for this area.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 6:31 PM.
