Belfast Ice Rink
| Belfast Ice Rink | |
|---|---|
| Location | Belfast Ice Rink Kings Hall Lisburn Road Balmoral Belfast Northern Ireland |
| Opened | October 1939 |
| Closed | October 1969 |
| Owner | |
| Tenants | Belfast Eagles (1946-1951) Ulster Monarchs (1951-1969) |
| Capacity | 7,000 (3,000 seated in 1939; reduced to 1,473 in 1949) |
| Dimensions | 198 ft x 98 ft |
The Belfast Ice Rink was an indoor facility situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[1] The rink opened in October 1939 as part of the Kings Hall complex, which was designed by Leitch and Partners, Glasgow, built in 1933 by J & R Thompson, Belfast and opened by the Duke of Gloucester on May 29, 1934.
The ice rink closed in 1942 and the hall was used for aircraft reconstruction during World War II. The rink opened again in 1946, only to be closed in April 1949.
New management re-opened the rink on October 20, 1949, but it once again was shuttered in 1954. A decade later, the facility was again reopened on December 26, 1964, only to be shuttered for good in October 1969 after the army requisitioned the hall as a temporary barracks due to recent civil unrest. Kings Hall itself still exists to this day.
The first ice hockey match at the rink was played on December 2, 1939, an 8-6 decision between the Wembley Colts and the Wembley Terriers. A house league competition was contested in three separate stints from 1940-1942, 1951-1954, and 1966-1969.
The Belfast Eagles and Ulster Monarchs representative teams played sporadically in challenge matches and home tournaments.
References
- ↑ Harris, Martin C. (2005). Homes of British Ice Hockey.