Dunedin Ice Stadium

Last updated

Dunedin Ice Stadium
Dunedin Ice Stadium logo (2020).png
Dunedin Thunder v West Auckland Admirals, 03 July 2021 (1).jpg
Dunedin Ice Stadium interior
Dunedin Ice Stadium
Location101 Victoria Road, Saint Kilda, Dunedin, New Zealand, 9012
Coordinates 45°54′28″S170°30′17″E / 45.907689°S 170.504733°E / -45.907689; 170.504733
Public transitBus 44 and 55
City to St Kilda
OwnerIce Sports Dunedin Inc.
Capacity 1,850
SurfaceIce - 60 m × 30 m (197 ft × 98 ft)
Construction
Built2004
OpenedOctober 2004(19 years ago) (October 2004)
Renovated2006 (4-lane curling rink)
2008-09 (mezzanine level)
2017 (lift to mezzanine level)
Construction cost$4 million
Tenants
Phoenix Thunder (2008–present)
Dunedin Thunder (2020–present)
Website
dunedinicestadium.co.nz

Dunedin Ice Stadium is an indoor ice sports and public skate centre, that opened in October 2004. It is located in the New Zealand city of Dunedin, in the southern suburb of Saint Kilda. The stadium is owned by Dunedin Ice Sports Inc. and is the current home venue of the Phoenix Thunder in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) and Dunedin Thunder in the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The arena is the only operational indoor ice sports stadium in Dunedin and is the most southern located Olympic sized ice rink in the World.

Contents

History

Indoor ice facility history of Dunedin

First public meeting held in 1975 to gauge public interest in developing and building an indoor ice rink in Dunedin. Meeting was held by Canadian migrant Dr Barrie Berkley and was attended by 30 people. Dunedin's first indoor ice rink opened to the public in 1984 at Kaikorai Valley. The rink was named The Big Chill. It offered very basic amenities and a small ice sheet with square corners. It was missing some amenity that would be regarded as standard in the twenty first centre, things like air conditioning and change rooms. By 1994 the facility is in financial trouble and is bailed out by members of the Dunedin Curling Club purchasing the rink and operational business and transferring ownership to the Curling Club. The rink continues to operate until the board decide in 2000 to halt all new investment in the facility. By 2002, the Big Chill ice rink closes and halts operations. [1]

Establishing Dunedin Ice Stadium

On 9 December 2002, Dunedin Curling club enters into a new partnership with the Dunedin Ice Hockey Association and Dunedin Ice Skating Club to form a new incorporated society entity named Ice Sports Dunedin (ISD). [1] ISD begins work on planning for a new indoor ice sports facility for the city of Dunedin. [1] In 2003, ISD submits a proposal to the Dunedin City Council to take ownership of the former Dunedin Stadium in St Kilda. Dunedin Stadium's basketball and netball tenants had left the stadium in the mid-1990s when the Edgar Centre opened. Council accepted ISD's proposal and renovation activities commenced. [1] As per the agreement with Council, Council invested $1.2 million and completed a full retrofitting of the stadium's roof with insulated panels. [2] ISD was responsible for all further renovations and fit-out of the facility. ISD began a fundraising campaign, led by Neil Gamble, Edwin Harley and Trevor Lewis, to pay $3.3 million for critical and desired works. [3] ISD completed construction in 2004 thanks to funds raised through community trust grants and issuing of debentures to club members. [1] Two years after the Big Chill had closed, in October 2004, the new Dunedin Ice Stadium opened to the public for the first time. [1] The new indoor ice sports stadium boasted a new Olympic-sized 60m x 30m ice rink. [1] The rink would be named after a pioneer of ice sports in New Zealand and the South Island, Corinne Gilkison. [4]

One year after the opening of the new stadium, adjacent to the Corinne Gilkison ice rink, ISD began construction on a four-lane curling sheet with funding from the Caversham Foundation. Construction took one year to be completed. The Caversham curling rink opened to the public in 2006. [1] [4] In 2008, the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) expanded to include the newly established Dunedin Thunder. [5] The Thunder would base themselves at the Dunedin Ice Stadium with national NZIHL games played and training conducted at the venue. [5] The Ice Stadium also began construction on the next stage of facility expansion with a new $840,000 mezzanine level. [6] [3]

2009 was a big year for Dunedin Ice Stadium. The mezzanine level was completed and would later be named the Gamble Lounge after Neil Gamble. [1] The stadium hosted its first major international tournaments during April and May 2009. First it welcomed five nations, including the New Zealand Ice Blacks for the 2009 IIHF World Championship Division III international ice hockey tournament. Second it welcomed twelve nations for the 2009 World Senior Curling Championships. In August, Dunedin played hosts to international figure skating and ice hockey events at the venue as part of the 2009 New Zealand Winter Games.

Following a successful 2009, ISD gained charitable status in New Zealand. The new status charged the Dunedin Ice Stadium's owners responsibility to the public and community clubs to maintain and improve the Ice Stadium. All funding through admissions and ice time rental would be reinvested in the facility. The Ice Stadium's governance structure was modified in 2013 to include representation from the Dunedin City Council and Sport Otago on top of ISD. The change was completed to solidify the venue's business stability and value to the city of Dunedin. [1] With the establishment of the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL) in 2014, one of the three founding teams, the Southern Storm, would base themselves at Dunedin Ice Stadium, with NZWIHL games played at the venue. [7] In 2017, the Stadium installed a new lift between the ground and mezzanine level to obtain building consent. ISD pays off the last of the stadium's debts to become debt free for the first time. [1] The Storm was disbanded by the NZWIHL in 2020 with two new teams founded in its place. One team based in Queenstown, Wakatipu Wild, and one team based in Dunedin at the Ice Stadium, Dunedin Thunder. [8]

Facilities

The arena's ice sports facilities were built and fitted out in 2004 following the facility's transition from basketball and netball stadium. The Olympic sized ice rink was installed in 2004 with other major facilities gradually updated since then, including the installation of the 4-lane curling rink in 2006 and the mezzanine level between 2008 and 2009. [6] Facilities include: [9] [10] [11]

Dunedinicestadium.jpg
A panorama of the Dunedin Ice Stadium from 2006

Events

Dunedin Ice Stadium hosts regular community, competitive and national events and is utilised by a number of associations and clubs, including Dunedin Ice Hockey Association, Dunedin Ice Skating Club and Dunedin Curling Club. [12] [13] During ice hockey season national men's and women's games are played at Dunedin Ice Stadium in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League and New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League as the Thunder's women's and men's teams play home games at the venue. [7] [5] In 2009, 2013 and 2017 the stadium hosted the annual New Zealand Women's Curling Championship.

The stadium has been host to international ice hockey and curling tournaments. In April 2009, the venue hosted 2009 IIHF World Championship Division III, which included fifteen scheduled games and involved the New Zealand Ice Blacks. New Zealand won all five games at the venue in the tournament, one in over-time, to finish top of the standings and earn promotion to division II for 2010. Between late April and early May, the stadium hosted the 2009 World Senior Curling Championships. [14] The tournament involved twelve nations, including New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand failed to make it out of their group and the Final saw Canada defeat the United States 4–3.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice rink</span> Place for ice skating and sports

An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ice skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of ice rinks in numerous areas of the world.

A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared artificial ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Ice Hockey League</span>

The New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) is New Zealand's top-level ice hockey league. Established in 2005 by Guenther Birgel, the NZIHL is sanctioned by New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. The NZIHL is an amateur league with players not paid to play. The NZIHL champion is awarded the Birgel Cup. The NZIHL is currently contested by six teams from three affiliated regions, including three teams from the North Island and three teams from the South Island. The most successful team in NZIHL history is the SkyCity Stampede, who have claimed eight NZIHL championships. The current champion, from 2023, is the SkyCity Stampede.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Calgary</span>

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is home to a deep-seated tradition of winter sports. Much of this stems from its location, with proximity to the Alberta Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park. After hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics, the city has also had winter sports and training facilities. Beyond winter sports, Calgary has several professional and amateur sports teams and is a major world pro rodeo center, with the city's Stampede Park holding the annual Calgary Stampede.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murrayfield Ice Rink</span> Sports venue in City of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Murrayfield Ice Rink is a 3,800-seat multi-purpose arena in Edinburgh, Scotland, adjacent to Murrayfield Stadium and situated between the Murrayfield, Roseburn and Saughtonhall neighbourhoods. It was built between 1938 and 1939 and is home to the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team and a seven-sheet curling rink which was constructed in the 1970s following the closure of Haymarket Ice Rink. In 2013 it was designated a Category B listed structure by Historic Environment Scotland due to being "an extremely rare surviving example of a purpose-built ice rink building... features a stylish 1930s Art Deco entrance façade". Since 2021, the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium has been situated immediately to the south.

Gentofte Sportspark is a multi-purpose stadium in Gentofte near Copenhagen, Denmark. The stadium holds 15,000 people. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Hellerup IK. Other sports clubs based in the sports park include the ice hockey team Gentofte Stars and the badminton club Gentofte BK. The stadium has also been used for concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minsk-Arena</span> Indoor arena in Minsk, Belarus

Minsk Arena is the main indoor arena in Minsk, Belarus. The Minsk-Arena complex includes the main multi-purpose arena with an open multi-level parking lot alongside an interconnected 2,000-seat velodrome and a 3,000-seat speed skating rink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Auckland Admirals</span> Ice hockey team in Auckland

The West Auckland Admirals is an ice hockey team based in Auckland, New Zealand and are members of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. The Team has always been based out of the Paradice Ice in Avondale, Auckland which in itself has a proud 41-year operating history. In 2011 the rink completed a massive renovation which brought it to international standards and allowed the Admirals team to install their very own changing room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botany Swarm</span> Ice hockey team in Auckland, New Zealand

The Botany Swarm is a semi-professional ice hockey team based in East Auckland, New Zealand. The team is a member of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL). The team was founded in 2005 as the South Auckland Swarm. Their name was changed prior to the 2007 season due to it being similar to one of the other teams and to better reflect the area in Auckland where their home rink is located. They play their home games out of the Paradice Ice Skating Botany Rink known as The Hive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedin Thunder</span> Ice hockey team in Dunedin

The Dunedin Thunder, currently the Phoenix Thunder for sponsorship reasons, is a men's ice hockey team based in Dunedin, New Zealand and are members of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Dunedin Ice Stadium. The Thunder were founded in 2008 and joined the league as an expansion team. The clubs won their first regular season title in 2013 and have finished as runner-up in the playoffs in 2013 and 2014, losing on both occasions to the Canterbury Red Devils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 IIHF World Championship Division III</span> International ice hockey tournament

The 2009 IIHF World Championship Division III was an international ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The tournament was contested from 10 to 16 April 2009 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Mongolia withdrew from the tournament and therefore forfeited all of their games. Division III represents the fourth level of the Ice Hockey World Championships.

The 2009 New Zealand Winter Games was a multi-sport event that was held in the Otago region of New Zealand. It was the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games and was organised by the Winter Games New Zealand Trust. Approximately 816 athletes from 41 nations participated in 51 event in seven disciplines.

Sharks Ice San Jose is an indoor ice rink in San Jose, California, United States. The largest ice rink facility in the Western United States, Solar4America Ice serves as the official training facility for the NHL San Jose Sharks and the home arena for San Jose State University's Spartans hockey team. The facility opened in 1994 and was expanded in 2000 and 2005. Roofing contractor PetersenDean bought naming rights to the facility in 2016, renaming the facility after its Solar4America solar roofing brand. After PetersenDean's bankruptcy in 2020, the name reverted to Sharks Ice

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auckland Mako</span> Ice hockey team in Auckland, New Zealand

The Auckland Mako are an ice hockey team in Auckland, New Zealand, that plays in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League, the top tier of the sport in New Zealand. The team is based in Auckland and play their home games at both Paradice Avondale and Paradice Botany Downs, alternating between the two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queenstown Ice Arena</span> Public sports venue in Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand

The Queenstown Ice Arena is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened originally in 1966 as an outdoor ice rink it was later rebuilt as an indoor arena in 1996 and is located at Queenstown Gardens, next to the town of Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. It is the current home venue of the Skycity Stampede in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) and Wakatipu Wild in the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). Queenstown Ice Arena is the only ice rink in Queenstown and is one of only two in Otago, along with Dunedin Ice Stadium.

The New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL) is New Zealand's top-tier women's ice hockey league. Established in 2014 as New Zealand's first women's national league, the NZWIHL has amateur status and is sanctioned by the New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation. The NZWIHL is currently contested by four teams from both the North and South Islands. The league champion is awarded the Championship Trophy and gold medals and the league premier is awarded the Premiership Trophy. The most successful team in NZWIHL history is Auckland Steel, who have claimed four championship titles. The current champion, from 2022, is the Wakatipu Wild, who claimed their first title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradice Avondale</span> Public sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand

Paradice Avondale is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened in May 1981 as an indoor ice rink and entertainment centre. It is located in the New Zealand city of Auckland, in the western-suburbs, at Avondale. It is the current home venue of the West Auckland Admirals in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) and Auckland Steel in the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). It is also used as one of two home venues of the Auckland Mako in the NZIHL. The arena is the oldest and largest operational ice sports centre in Auckland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine Ice Centre</span> Public sports venue in Christchurch, New Zealand

Alpine Ice is an indoor ice sports and public skate centre, that opened in April 1985. It is located in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, in the inner-city suburb of Opawa. It is the current home venue of the Canterbury Red Devils in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League (NZIHL) and Canterbury Inferno in the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The arena is the only operational indoor ice sports centre in Christchurch.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Our Story". dunedinicestadium.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  2. ↑ McMurran, Alistair (7 June 2008). "Ice sports: Ensuring surface kept up to scratch". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 McMurran, Alistair (22 May 2009). "Ice sports: Harley able to reflect on successes". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Dunedin Ice Stadium". eventfinda.co.nz. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Phoenix Thunder". dunedinicestadium.co.nz. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Ice Stadium upgrade on target after budget trim". Otago Daily Times. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 "NZWIHL History". New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dunedin Thunder Women". New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "Our Facilities". dunedinicestadium.co.nz. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Dunedin Ice Stadium". eurohockey.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Maka, Valu (23 December 2020). "Bumper attraction at ice stadium". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "About us information". Dunedin Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "History". Dunedin Curling Club. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "NZWSCC website". Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.

45°54′28″S170°30′17″E / 45.907689°S 170.504733°E / -45.907689; 170.504733

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.