The Daily Mining Gazette that the young hockey players were the reason the Dee is falling apart and that the City is not at fault for the condition of the Dee. With the City threatening to close Dee stadium, 468 adults and 423 students signed a petition to keep the Dee open for use. The Houghton High School Hockey coach at the time Don Miller said, "By having to move to either Houghton County Arena or the Student Ice Arena, a severe scheduling problem would arise...especially the Houghton High School Hockey Team." All kinds of community groups got involved with the Dee petition. The Houghton-Portage Teachers Education Association expressed their interest in the situation by stating, "the teachers feel strongly about Dee Stadium and the purpose that it serves. For the next five years, there were fundraising efforts to save Dee Stadium from being closed". These fundraisers also provided Dee Stadium with the proper improvements that it needed. At each of these annual fund raising dinners, there were 200 tickets sold at $100 at ticket, which gained an $8,000 profit per year. The goal with this money was to put new siding on all four sides of the building and to put in new insulation to make the ballroom available for year-round use. In 1988, the City of Houghton purchased the Dee Stadium. Current use Dee Stadium is the current home of the Houghton High School Hockey team and Portage Lake Pioneers Senior Hockey team. It is a venue for Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival and the annual Parade of Nations festival. Facilities Upstairs at the Dee Stadium was the Level II skatepark. The park was originally built in 2000 and rebuilt in 2005. Besides having various ramps for skateboarding and biking they also had a stage for concerts. The park was closed due to waning interest. The Dee Stadium houses a museum that showcases the history of the site and the history of ice hockey in the area. References External links Sports venues in Michigan Buildings and structures in Houghton, Michigan Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey History of ice hockey 1902 establishments in Michigan 1928 establishments in Michigan 1900s architecture in the United States 1920s architecture in the United States