Ice Arena Wales
| Ice Arena Wales | |
|---|---|
| Canolfan Iâ Cymru | |
 The Ice Arena Wales in February 2016 | |
| Location | Cardiff International Sports Village, Cardiff Bay. |
| Broke ground | 29 May 2014 |
| Opened | 12 March 2016 |
| Owner | |
| Architect | Scott Brownrigg |
| Main Contractors | Kier Group |
| Tenants | Cardiff Devils Cardiff Redhawks |
| Capacity | 3,088 |
Ice Arena Wales (IAW) (Welsh: Canolfan Iâ Cymru) is an ice hockey rink in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, Wales. It opened on 12 March 2016, and has two ice rinks and seating for 3,088 spectators.
It will be home to the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team, who play in the professional British Elite Ice Hockey League, which is the top tier of ice hockey in the UK. It will eventually replace the Cardiff Arena, which is close to the Ice Arena Wales. The Cardiff Arena is a temporary structure, built after the Wales National Ice Rink was demolished in September 2006. The Cardiff Devils played their first game at the arena against Belfast Giants on 12 March 2016
History
Cardiff Council had named the operator Planet Ice as the company they had chosen to build a new ice rink to replace the Cardiff Arena, which is a temporary structure in the Cardiff International Sports Village. Work was due to begin in early 2011, subject to planning, with the ice arena to be completed by February 2012. Planet Ice would have run the rink as well as design and build it.[1]
However, by July 2011, Cardiff Council said in statement "We were unable to find the comfort that we required from them to show the ice rink would now be progressed. As a result it is being recommended that the executive cancels the current tender. Instead it is proposed to deliver a new ice arena, as a priority, within a new waterfront tender which would go out this summer."[2] The contract to build the arena was eventually won by the Wigan-based developers, Greenbank Partnerships. The cost of the arena is approximately £16 – £17 million and will form part of a larger £250M development, which will include a 32-storey indoor ski slope which will contain a hotel and apartments, and viewing platform. The development will also contain cafes, shops, office space, apartments and townhouses.[3]
The last game in the Cardiff Arena (also known as the Big Blue Tent) was played against Coventry Blaze on 27 February 2016. The first game in Ice Arena Wales was against the Belfast Giants on 12 March 2016.
Notes
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