Romford Ice Arena was an ice rink located in Romford in the London Borough of Havering, England. The venue was built in the 1980s and at the time of opening in 1987 was equipped with a full range of facilities, including a cafe and arcade games. The venue closed in April 2013. It has now been replaced by the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre, [1] which opened in 2018 on a nearby site and was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Sapphire Jubilee (65 years as monarch). [2]
It was the home of the Romford Raiders ice hockey team. The first game at the Ice Arena took place on Sunday 13 September 1987 as the Romford Raiders defeated Oxford City Stars 9–6 in front of 479 spectators. David Jones (Oxford City Stars) scored the first goal of the game, however the Raiders' first goal was scored by Erskine Douglas. In addition to ice hockey, the arena had resident professional figure skating coaches. The rink was also used for public skating, as a conference centre and a party venue. The building was owned by the London Borough of Havering Council and leased out.
In December 2007 the ice rink featured in the BBC Christmas ident.
In 2011 it was reported that Romford Ice Arena was going to be demolished and rebuilt with additional features such as a gymnasium and swimming pool, [3] but initially it was decided to simply renovate the existing building.
In April 2013, the original Ice Arena closed permanently. [4] The building was replaced with a Morrisons superstore, and a new leisure centre has been built in Romford town centre, on Western Road. The Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre opened to the public on 3 February 2018. It is five storeys high and includes an eight-lane pool for competitions and a 56m by 26m ice rink. Other leisure amenities such as saunas, a state-of-the-art gym, dance studios, fitness rooms as well as cafes and retail units are provided on the upper floors. From an external viewpoint, the combination of the building's rectangular shape and its lightweight facade were used to mimic the appearance of an ice cube. [5] [6] The ice hockey team returned to the new rink, but were renamed the London Raiders. [7] Over half a million people used the new centre in its first year. [8]
Romford is a large town in East London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located 14 miles northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford was a market town in the county of Essex, and formed the administrative centre of the liberty of Havering before that liberty was dissolved in 1892. Good road links to London and the opening of the railway station in 1839 were key to the development of the town. The economic history of Romford is characterised by a shift from agriculture to light industry and then to retail and commerce. As part of the suburban growth of London throughout the 20th century, Romford significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1937 and was incorporated into Greater London in 1965. Today, it is one of the largest commercial, retail, entertainment and leisure districts in London and has a well-developed night-time economy. Its population, as of 2011, was 122,854.
The London Borough of Havering in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The borough is mainly suburban, with large areas of protected open space. Romford is a major retail and night time entertainment centre, and to the south the borough extends into the London Riverside redevelopment area of the Thames Gateway. The name Havering is a reference to the Royal Liberty of Havering which occupied the area for several centuries. The local authority is Havering London Borough Council. It is the easternmost London borough.
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals 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.
Guildford Spectrum is a leisure complex in Guildford, Surrey, England. Owned by Guildford Borough Council, it was opened on 23 February 1993 at a cost of £28 million. It is the home of ice hockey teams the Guildford Flames and the Guildford Phoenix, Aldwych Speed Club and other sports clubs. In addition to its large indoor sports arena, it has an Olympic size ice rink, three swimming pools and a high diving pool, a tenpin bowling centre, squash courts and a football/athletics stadium.
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding a new era in the development of ice skating". Incorporating the Nottingham Arena, the NIC is a combined live entertainment and leisure venue.
The Raiders are an ice hockey team based in Romford, participating in the National Division of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), the second tier of British ice hockey.
The Centrum Arena was a 2,733 seat ice arena in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland that opened on 25 August 1996. The arena was used during the winter months for recreational ice skating and ice hockey matches. In the summer months, the arena was used for various events such as the Chinese State Circus. The Centrum was famous as being the home of the Ayr Scottish Eagles ice hockey club from 1996 until 2002. The building was located at 125 Ayr Road on public land and was demolished in 2009. Today the site is occupied by a supermarket.
The Planet Ice Silverdome Arena is a 2,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Basingstoke, England. It was built in 1988 and has an Olympic sized 60 m × 30 m ice rink. It is one of several ice skating arenas in the UK operated by the Planet Ice company. It is home to the Basingstoke Bison and Basingstoke Buffalo ice hockey teams.
Queen's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Romford in the London Borough of Havering. It was built on the site of the former Oldchurch Park, a short distance south of the town centre. It is run by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The Dome Leisure Centre is an arena and leisure centre in Doncaster, England, commonly referred to as The Dome or Doncaster Dome. It has a swimming complex, bars, a sports arena that is also used as an event venue and the United Kingdom's first ever split level ice skating rink.
The Link Centre is a leisure centre in Swindon, England. The building, owned by Swindon Borough Council and operated by Greenwich Leisure under the brand "Better", is best known for its national-sized ice rink which houses a National Ice Hockey League team, the Swindon Wildcats.
Beam Park is a new neighbourhood in the south of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Havering. It is named after the River Beam which forms the boundary between the boroughs. It is part of the London Riverside opportunity area and is designated with neighbouring Rainham as a housing zone by the Greater London Authority. It covers an area of 29 hectares. It will include a town centre in the Havering part of the development and will be served by Beam Park railway station. Much of the land previously part of the Ford Dagenham site is being redeveloped as a joint venture between London and Quadrant and Countryside Properties. Planning consent for 3,000 homes was issued in February 2019 and construction began in May 2019. The first residents moved into Beam Park in December 2020. Planning permission was given for 947 additional homes in December 2022
Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes is a 2,800-capacity multi-purpose ice rink/hockey rink located in Milton Keynes, England, as part of the Leisure Plaza complex.
Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre is an ice rink and leisure centre in Streatham, London. It is the only Olympic-sized skating rink in the city, and is the home ice of the Streatham IHC and Streatham Storm ice hockey teams. It replaced the older Streatham Ice Arena.
Richmond Ice Rink was an ice skating rink at Clevedon Road, Twickenham, formerly in Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. When it opened, in 1928, it had the longest ice surface in any indoor rink in the world and it soon became the premier rink in London. The rink closed in 1992 and the building was demolished.
The St. Moritz Ice Rink was a popular ice rink housed in a grand venue on The Esplanade, St. Kilda, Victoria, which operated between 1939–1981. As one of only two ice rinks in Melbourne in the 40s and 50s, it played a central role to the sport of ice hockey in Australia. Closed in 1982, it soon suffered a major fire and was then demolished, an event later seen as a major blow to the heritage of St Kilda.
The Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II on 6 February 2017, marked 65 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The longest-reigning monarch in British history, Elizabeth II was the first British monarch to have a sapphire jubilee.
The Macquarie Ice Rink is an ice sports and public skate centre, opened in 1981 and located within the Macquarie Shopping Centre in the northern Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is the current home of the Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs AIHL ice hockey teams.
Ryde Arena was an ice rink in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England. It was opened in 1991 and had a capacity of 1,000 spectators. The venue was the only ice rink in Isle of Wight, functioning as home ice to the Wightlink Raiders of the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL), in addition to a minimum of four synchronized skating teams and a number of figure skaters.
Aldershot Ice Rink was an ice rink venue located in Pool Road, Aldershot, Hampshire, England. It was opened on 24 July 1987 and closed on 15 October 1991.
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