Glacier Gardens was an indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. It opened in 1939. In that year, the San Diego Figure Skating Club was founded with the arena as its home. The club was incorporated in 1940. The arena was the venue for ice shows throughout the 1940s. It hosted the Pacific Coast Hockey League's

San Diego Skyhawks The San Diego Skyhawks were a professional ice hockey team in San Diego, California. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1948 to 1950. They played their home games in the Glacier Gardens. They won the 1948-1949 President's ...

from 1944 to 1950. The arena held 5,000 people. The Skyhawks won the Pacific Coast Hockey League Championship for the 1948–1949 season. Glacier Gardens was located at the intersection of 8th and Harbor, just south of present-day

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

. By 1956, the venue was known as just "The Arena".

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, with his backup band, guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo. Ear ...

, and drummer

D. J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

, appeared at the arena on April 4 and 5, 1956 and June 5 and 6, 1956. In the early 1960s, the arena was sub-leased for retail and auctions, then for manufacture of a miniature jeep, the Crofton Bug.''The Arena (aka Glacier Gardens), San Diego, CA'' Scotty Moore web site.
Retrieved May 22, 2016. The Arena was torn down a few years later. The San Diego Sports Arena, which in 2010 became the

Valley View Casino Center Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer a ...

, has served as a venue for minor league ice hockey and other indoor sports in San Diego since 1966.

References

Ice hockey venues in California Sports venues in San Diego Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in the United States {{California-stadium-stub