St. Louis Blues officials said Monday the centerpiece of their effort to grow youth hockey is a proposed $35 million practice facility next to Creve Coeur Lake Park.

Team officials said they hope to open the facility in fall 2018. The site, on Marine Avenue in Maryland Heights, is on land owned by St. Louis County.

The officials said the facility, which would be called the St. Louis Ice Center, would have a main rink with seating for 1,800 spectators and a team training center. Planned are three additional ice sheets — two for youth hockey and one suitable for collegiate hockey. The Blues announced the project at Scottrade Center.

Chris Zimmerman, the Blues’ chief executive of business operations, said the new facility is part of the team’s Hockey STL 2020 program to grow youth hockey. The program, announced in November, intends to have within five years 125,000 kids playing ball hockey and 5,000 suiting up for ice hockey for the first time.

Zimmerman said a nonprofit foundation would operate the St. Louis Ice Center. As proposed, the center would be a project of the Blues, St. Louis County and the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.