Alpine Ice (also known as Alpine Ice Sports Centre) is an indoor ice sports and public skate centre, that opened in April 1985. It is located in the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

city of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, in the inner-city suburb of

Opawa Opawa is an inner suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located 2.5 kilometres south-east of the city centre. The name is a contraction of "Ōpāwaho", which, in Māori, means a place of ('ō') an outer '' pā'' or outpost ('pāwaho'). "Ōpāwa ...

. It is the current home venue of the

Canterbury Red Devils The Canterbury Red Devils is an ice hockey team based in Christchurch, New Zealand and are members of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Alpine Ice Centre. Since their foundation in 2005 the team have won ...

in the

New Zealand Ice Hockey League The NZIHL is New Zealand’s national ice hockey league. It is an amateur league that was formed in 2005 to develop the sport in New Zealand and to give the top players regular competition against each other to improve the skill level of the game ...

(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

History

Christchurch ice rink history

The first indoor ice rink in Christchurch was opened in 1952. Known as Centaurus Road Ice Rink, the venue was located in the southern-Christchurch suburb of Cashmere. The ice rink was owned by Mr. A F W Jones and the brothers Mr. Frank and Mr. George Kirkpatrick (Ice Rinks Chch Ltd). In 1953, the Centaurus Ice Skating Club was formed to utilise the facility along with the general public. On 5 July 1953, the ice rink was badly damaged by a fire but was repaired and remained operational. In 1978, the ownership and operation of the ice rink changed hands, with Mr. Jaap de Haan purchasing the venue. The early to mid-1980s saw the aging Centaurus Road Ice Rink hit tough times, first closing in 1983, before ceasing all operations in September 1984 and being demolished in March 1985.

Foundation of Alpine Ice

In 1983 work commenced on the construction of a new and modern international-sized ice rink facility located at

. The new rink, was bought by a company that included the current owner of the facility and was officially opened in April 1985 under the name of The Big Apple Ice Rink. In August 1992, Christchurch suffered a major snow storm, colloquially known as the 'Big Snow'. This storm was the largest snowstorm to hit Christchurch in 30 years. The Alpine Ice Centre suffered major damage during the storm, with the roof of the facility collapsing. Reconstruction of the roof took nine months, with the ice rink closed for this time and re-opened in May 1993. As of 2023, the arena employs 30 people, including full-time and part-time employees.

Facilities

The arena's facilities were built between 1983 and 1985 and have been gradually updated with the last major upgrade coming in 2009. They include: * 56 m × 26 m ice rink (international sized) * 700 spectator capacity * Skate and equipment hire * Café * Snack bar * Pro-shop * Private lounge * Public toilets * Outdoor parking

Events

The arena hosts public skating and holiday events on a regular and seasonal basis. Alpine Ice hosts regular community-level ice sporting events for

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

, and

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

with a number of associated clubs, such as Canterbury Ice Hockey Association, Canterbury Alpine Ice Speed Skating Club, Canterbury Masters Figure Skating Club and Centaurus Ice Skating Club, using the venue. The arena also hosts national level ice hockey games during the NZIHL and NZWIHL seasons.

References

External links

*
New Zealand Ice Hockey League

New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League
{{NZWIHL Sports venues in Christchurch Indoor ice hockey venues in New Zealand 1985 establishments in New Zealand Sports venues completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Canterbury, New Zealand