Chicago Blackhawks to appear at community center fundraiser

Benjamin Din, Digital Projects Editor

Two Illinois-raised Chicago Blackhawks have been added to the slate of guests appearing at a cocktail party benefiting Friends of the Robert Crown Center, a citizen group fundraising for a new facility to replace the center, according to a news release.

Blackhawks forwards Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza will join Rocky Wirtz, the owner and chairman of the National Hockey League team, as special guests for Friday night’s lineup. The funds raised at the event will go toward a new $30 million library, turf park and community center at the Main Street and Dodge Avenue lot where the Robert Crown Community Center is located.

The community group is working in partnership with the city and the Evanston Public Library for the project. Construction will take place on a portion of the lot closer to Dodge Avenue, so programming can continue in Robert Crown’s existing space.

The new facility is expected to include two full-sized ice rinks, turf fields and a reading courtyard inside the new library branch, assistant city manager Marty Lyons told The Daily in January. The fundraising goal for the project is an estimated $17 million, which the city expects to collect by the end of this year.

Hartman, a West Dundee, Illinois, native born in South Carolina, joined the Blackhawks in the first round of the 2013 NHL draft and has played in 63 games with the team. A 2012 sixth-round pick from Bartlett, Illinois, Hinostroza played for the University of Notre Dame and has had a total 55 appearances for the Blackhawks.

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