Paul Granville has dreams of developing greater interest in ice sports, particularly hockey, in Lakeland. And he has the Tampa Bay Lightning on board.

LAKELAND – A long-dormant Lakeland bowling alley is finding new life as an ice skating rink that potentially could ignite interest in hockey throughout Polk County.

The project already has major support from the Tampa Bay Lightning and its farm team, the Orlando Solar Bears.

The collaboration could produce Polk County’s second ball hockey rink to be situated adjacent to the future Lakeland Ice Arena on West Memorial Boulevard, site of the defunct Interstate Lanes bowling facility. The only other ball hockey rink is at the north section of Lake Parker Park near the Florida Highway Patrol Station in North Lakeland.

Organizers anticipate constructing a second NHL-size ice rink on the property that straddles Interstate 4 sometime in the future, building additional capacity to lure youth ice hockey tournaments, figure skating competitions and more.

The ice arena is scheduled to open in the summer, bringing Polk its first year-round ice skating rink. The facility will be open for public use, but a focus is to incubate a youth hockey program that will feed future high school and college teams, said Paul Granville, the arena’s director of operations.

“Our goal is to grow talent right here (in Lakeland),” he said Tuesday afternoon while conducting a tour of the future arena that will include a concession stand, restaurant and bar, pro shop, rooms for special events, coach’s conference room and locker room.

Work is underway to convert the former bowling alley, built in 1984 by Kay Wentworth, daughter of the late Joe K. Blanton, a former president of Publix Super Markets Inc.

The property has been vacant since the closing of the bowling alley in 2009. Wentworth recently found a buyer in the Barnett family, headed by Hoyt “Barney” Barnett, vice chairman of the Publix board of directors, and his wife, Carol Barnett, daughter of Publix founder George W. Jenkins.

So it remains a family affair.

“I guess God just said hold on (for the right buyer),” said Wentworth, who was on hand for Tuesday’s tour. She added that she’s happy to see the property put to good use.

Granville, who is leasing the 40,000-square-foot building, has bold plans that include conducting week-long summer hockey camps with local NHL players assisting as coaches.

“The Lightning is right around the corner,” he said, “and the players will actually be on the ice with our kids.”

Fostering youth hockey is vital to the Lightning and other NHL teams that depend on growing a fan base, not to mention developing future players. So it’s no surprise that the Lightning has a vested interest in seeing the Lakeland arena take shape.

“Anything we can do programming-wise, we’re fully supportive,” said Jay Feaster, a former general manager of the Tampa team who now oversees development of youth and community programs. “We love that Lakeland market. We think there’s great potential there.”

Feaster said the Lightning will build 10 ball hockey rinks over the next two years throughout the five-county region that includes Polk to introduce more youth to the sport. The Lakeland Ice Arena and adjoining acreage is being considered for such a rink, he said. “It’s clearly a place we want to be. We love the location.”

Ball hockey is just as the term implies – instead of chasing a puck on ice skates, players in sneakers swat plastic balls with hockey sticks. The expectation is that children will develop skills and enthusiasm to someday advance to playing on ice.

Feaster visited the Lakeland arena site Tuesday and said he was impressed with the scope of the project. Once completed, the Lightning will muster a number of programs to build interest in youth hockey, he said.

In adition to the week-long camps, the team also could bring its Learn to Play program to Lakeland. The eight-week course provides affordable on-ice instruction from professional hockey players and USA Hockey-certified coaches. The cost is $125 and includes equipment.

Youth hockey has been gaining traction in Polk through the Lightning High School Hockey League team based at George Jenkins High School. The team’s 17 members must travel to ice rinks in Brandon, Wesley Chapel and other distant locales to practice and play games. The commitment of time and travel has hampered recruitment, said Joe Niemas, manager of the Jenkins hockey club.

The Lakeland Ice Arena will no doubt spur interest in team membership, he said.

“My efforts (to build the team) are going to quadruple,” Niemas said, adding that he can see a second team forming, maybe more. A goal is to spur area high schools to develop varsity ice hockey programs.

That will be much more likely with the completion of a local ice arena and the Lightning’s support, he said.

Because of its central location, a Lakeland ice arena dedicated to supporting youth hockey could spark interest in the sport throughout Central Florida, Feaster said. “We think it’s a game changer.”

Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528.