Growing up in Northport, N.Y., Robert Blaskovich could get to the nearest hockey rink on Long Island's north shore in 10 minutes.

The commute's considerably longer to the closest ice rink from his new home in Murrieta: At least 45 minutes to Escondido, Riverside or Anaheim. There are no ice arenas in Southwest County. There are roller rinks at the Ronald Reagan Sports Park in Temecula and off Interstate 15 in Wildomar.

"It hampers some kids who have the talent and skill," said Blaskovich, 40, who is a financial consultant in Temecula. "What if they don't have the money to travel to Escondido, Corona and Anaheim?"

The Blaskovich family is fortunate; they have the means to travel.

Blaskovich is in a roller hockey league in San Diego County, as are his two young sons. He treks down to San Diego County at least five days a week for hockey, plus the occasional trip to Anaheim or Los Angeles for a tournament.

The miles are adding up for Blaskovich, and he's not alone.

The local demand is strong and mounting for an area rink, several Temecula and Murrieta skating and hockey enthusiasts said. Several local teams play in hockey leagues more than 20 miles outside Southwest County.

"Are we penalized because we want to live in an area that's up and coming with a good school system, that's centrally located?" Blaskovich asked.

Members of a new nonprofit organization, the Inland Valley Sports and Arena Commission, have hatched a plan to bring ice hockey and skating to Murrieta, said resident Robert Gibbons, the group's spokesman. Gibbons, 56, is the building and ice engineer for the Honda Center in Anaheim, home to the National Hockey League's Ducks.

Under a plan he pitched to Murrieta Deputy City Manager Jim Holston, Gibbons and a local group would raise $5.5 million to build four rinks on 100,000 square feet of space at Los Alamos Hills Sports Park. Two of the rinks would be for roller activities; there also would be two indoor ice rinks.

That plan would require Murrieta leaders to agree to a public-private partnership, which would be unprecedented in that city.

Murrieta leaders, including Mayor Doug McAllister, are aware there are no local rinks, but have yet to research whether the demand is as considerable as local skating and hockey enthusiasts insist, Holston said.

As of now, Gibbons' plan is one of 20 being considered for the second phase of the 80-acre Los Alamos Hills Sports Park.

"It's in the mix," Holston said.

Other options include a bike track, an equestrian center, and baseball and softball diamonds, Holston said. The park's first phase of about 40 acres opened last summer.

Murrieta officials are unlikely to finalize a master plan for the park's second phase until early next summer - the same time Gibbons hopes to break ground on a rink there.

"It's incumbent on the Murrieta City Council to hear the visions of the people," Blaskovich said. "Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Fallbrook, I think all of the communities need to listen up."

The idea of a local arena has been pondered before - in Temecula.

Murrieta City Manager Ron Bradley, who formerly held the same post in Temecula, said a developer in the mid-1990s tried to build a rink where The Promenade mall now stands, but the plan quickly fizzled.

"They didn't appear to be a viable company for the city," he said.

Unlike Murrieta, Temecula has pursued public-private partnerships. That city attempted to partner with an Orange County developer to build an education center on Diaz Road, but the deal recently collapsed.

In the coming months, Temecula officials likely will gauge resident interest in a 50-meter swimming pool and an arena for ice skating and hockey, Mayor Chuck Washington said. A half-dozen residents, he said, have campaigned to him for a local rink, prompting him to discuss the notion of a public-private arena with Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson.

"Our highest priority is still to do a higher ed center," Washington said.

But officials are likely to study the viability of a youth activity center that could include an ice skating rink and a retail component, he said.

Blaskovich insists the interest in a local hockey rink is high.

On March 23 - the morning Chick's Sporting Goods opened on Murrieta Hot Springs Road - Blaskovich asked an employee where the hockey equipment was located. Blaskovich said he was informed they didn't have any on-site.

"The guy then turned and said to someone else, 'Dude, we need to get hockey gear. That's the 13th person asking about gear this morning,'" Blaskovich recalled.

- Contact staff writer Brian Eckhouse at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or beckhouse@californian.com.