LYNDON, Vt (AP) — A nonprofit has been formed to reopen an ice arena in Lyndon and preserve youth hockey in Caledonia County.

The Feton Chester Arena was closed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Caledonian Record reported.

RINK Inc., short for Rescue Ice Hockey In The Northeast Kingdom, will develop a plan to reopen the arena. Its director told the Lyndon Select Board this week that youth hockey in the Lyndon-St. Johnsbury area could be doomed if action isn't taken quickly.

“It’s a critical thing,” Eli Emerson, a RINK Inc. said. “I don’t know if (youth hockey) could survive another year of the rink not opening.”

The nonprofit must raise at least $50,000 to revive the Fenton Chester Arena. The amount will cover essential maintenance, repairs and start-up costs but not looming capital costs for the aging 41-year-old facility, the newspaper reported.