Northern Colorado could become a state hockey hub thanks to Martin Lind and those who believe in the 58-year-old college dropout from Windsor.

Lind, the longtime Colorado Eagles owner and second-year American Hockey League partner with the Avalanche, is working with the city of Loveland and Larimer County to build a 10,000-seat multi-use arena and youth hockey complex as part of a project he envisions as “the new downtown of northern Colorado.”

The project will sit just east of Interstate 25 in Loveland near the Budweiser Event Center, the Eagles’ longtime home, and include a 300-room hotel overlooking an entertainment strip where the Larimer County Fairgrounds (a.k.a The Ranch) currently sits.

“There’s going to be something magnificent built on The Ranch in the next two years,” Lind said.

Once completed, the new arena will become the Eagles’ new home, turning the BEC into a dirt-based facility — possibly a rodeo/equestrian center and monster truck/motocross venue. It could also become a parking lot.

In addition to three sheets of ice serving youth hockey programs, figure skating and community skates, an Olympic swimming pool and training center is planned for the massive sports complex.

The Avalanche has Lind’s full support. The NHL team only controls the Eagles’ players and hockey-related staff. Lind relinquished that control when he chose to pay the AHL’s expansion fee of nearly $7 million and bring the sport’s top minor league to Colorado.

The Eagles previously played in the “double-A” ECHL and “single-A” CHL, winning a combined four championships in 15 years and setting attendance records every year while Lind and his staff controlled over every aspect of the team.

The Eagles averaged 5,140 fans at the BEC last season, ranking 19th among the 31 AHL teams, but they sold out nearly every game and led the league with more than 97 percent capacity. Lind and the Avalanche believe the Eagles can become among the league’s top draws — partly because of the dynamic infrastructure around the arena.

“There’s a lot of different people in the world but Martin is clearly a grassroots believer and not a guy to sit on the sidelines and watch, but get out there and make things happen,” said Avalanche assistant general manager Craig Billington, who oversees the NHL club’s minor-league interests.

Lind graduated from Windsor High School and briefly tried to play football for a junior-college program in northern Iowa. He wasn’t a great student, so he turned to the family farm.

“I tell everybody I kept my GPA and blood-alcohol the same for six months in college,” Lind said. “I couldn’t keep that up. I knew that wasn’t sustainable. I moved back home and started farming. We got hailed out two consecutive years and we had absolutely no funds and nowhere to turn, so we sold out — sold all the equipment, had the auction. And I went and sold cars and trucks and did odd jobs for four or five years.”

But Lind has always had a love for land, including waterways. He became a developer and, ultimately, a huge hockey fan.

“I don’t think there is a more honorable professional athlete than a hockey player. And I’ve been around a lot of them,” he said.

Originally a partner in the Eagles’ ownership group, Lind eventually assumed complete control of the franchise. He said he doesn’t mind being eliminated from hockey decisions because he knows that benefits the fans who want to see the Avalanche’s top prospects at the premier minor-league level. Related Articles Avalanche’s Cale Makar wins Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year

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“What the Avs have brought up here to northern Colorado is amazing. For me, it’s all about the show. What value are we giving our fans? And how are we being represented?” Lind said. “We couldn’t be with a classier or better organization in the NHL. We’re thrilled.

“And bottom-line revenue has never been the driving factor in all of our decision making. It’s what are we doing for the community and our fans, our players and employees? We see this as an enormous partnership and we take pride in their success down there, too. Our fans are starting to really take a lot of pride in the success of the Avalanche, and I think we’re seeing Denver fans coming up here and taking a lot of pride in what’s being developed in northern Colorado. They have to be excited about the future. They have to be.”

Amen.