DULUTH – The Two Harbors Youth Hockey Association, looking to defray the huge expense of its new ice-resurfacing machine, has found funding from a Seattle grunge band.

Now rather than a Zamboni, it’s a “Pearl Jamboni” that clears the ice at Sonju Arena in Two Harbors.

The youth hockey association was in search of a local business to sponsor its new Zamboni when its board members decided to toss an idea out to Pearl Jam. Executive director Jesse Lundgren, a member of the band’s offi cial fan club, handwrote a note in the style of a concert poster with an original offer: Would they be interested in sponsoring the world’s first Jamboni?

Lundgren expected he would hear back sometime between six months and never; he received an email from a band representative within two weeks. She told him he had found the right audience: The representative was a hockey fan from Canada, Lundgren said.

The organization won’t say how much the band donated, but it’s “sizable,” association secretary Stephanie Aho said. Frontman Eddie Vedder and his bandmates will be represented at the rink for at least the next three years.

Pearl Jam designed its own art for the Jamboni, which is black with the band’s name on the side. A “PJ” in the school colors has hockey sticks crossed behind it.

“We were very shocked,” Aho said. “This is something they’ve never done before. They give back to lots of different types of things. They’ve never done a Zamboni.”

The band contributes to causes that support the environment, Indigenous communities and the homeless, according to its website. In 2016, they were among the celebrities that sent money to support children during the water crisis in Flint, Mich. Efforts to contact the band’s management were not successful.

The Two Harbors Youth Hockey Association supplies equipment for its youngest players and leases equipment to older players. The group wants the sport to be financially accessible to anyone who wants to play, Aho said. About 100 kids participate, ranging from mini mites to bantams.

The cost of a new Zamboni can start at $150,000. Lake County bought the new machine, and the organization makes yearly payments. The hockey association’s board members didn’t want the new machine to cut into equipment for kids.

The youth hockey association plans to honor the band in the future with a Pearl Jam-themed night, complete with music. The Jamboni has already become a local attraction.

“We’ve had people come up and want to take pictures with it,” Aho said.

Lundgren, who has seen the band live 23 times, said he was overwhelmed by the donation.

“They’re in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he said of Pearl Jam. “Though the kids might not know them.”

christa.lawler@startribune.com