The Cardiff Arena, also known as Cardiff Bay Ice Arena and also known by

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 h ...

fans as the Big Blue Tent, was a temporary

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating 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 ...

in Cardiff Bay,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It had a capacity of 2,500 for ice hockey and was home to the Cardiff Devils after leaving the

Wales National Ice Rink The Wales National Ice Rink (WNIR) was an ice rink in Cardiff, Wales. It was the former home of the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team. The WNIR was opened in September 1986, and was inaugurated by the Duchess of York on 27 April 1987. Meat Loaf per ...

which was being demolished to make way for a

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

store. It was also used for

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 m ...

and hosted three competitions (in February 2009, 2011 and 2012). It was replaced as the home of the Cardiff Devils when they moved into the

Ice Arena Wales Ice Arena Wales (IAW) ( cy, 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 is home to the Cardif ...

History

Construction, opening

The ice rink was a

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term ...

structure constructed in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Assembly began in 2006 and after a number of delays opened on 6 December 2006 when the Devils hosted the

Manchester Phoenix Manchester Phoenix was a semi professional ice hockey team from Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group ''Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey'' to bring top-level ice hockey back to Ma ...

(who, coincidentally, were also waiting for a similar venue to be completed) in an

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

fixture. The Devils won the game 7-4 while Manchester's

Tony Hand Anthony Hand MBE (born 15 August 1967) is a Scottish former ice hockey player and coach. He was the first British player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. Nicknamed ''Two point Tony'', he holds sev ...

became the first player to score a goal at the rink.

Closure

Cardiff Arena being dismantled - Geograph-5028234-by-Gareth-James

The last game in the Cardiff Arena was played against

Coventry Blaze Coventry Blaze are an ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the ''Solihull Barons'' and ren ...

on 27 February 2016. The first game in Ice Arena Wales was against the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cha ...

on 12 March 2016. In Summer 2016, the rink was dismantled. The wooden frame was moved to Leeds where it will be upgraded to form part of the new ice rink located on Elland Road, yards away from

Leeds United Football Club Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. The upgrade will consist of new walls and an extension at the non-seated end of the rink which will include a bar and cafe over two floors. The stairs to the seating area have also been moved to the back in order to improve sightlines.

References

External links

* * {{Sport in Cardiff Defunct sports venues in Wales Indoor ice hockey venues in Wales Sports venues completed in 2006 Sports venues demolished in 2016 Demolished buildings and structures in Wales

History

Construction, opening

Closure

See also

References

External links