Romford Ice Arena was an
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 ...
located in
Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...
in the
London Borough of Havering
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. Th ...
, 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 It has now been replaced by the Sapphire Ice and Leisure Centre, which opened in 2018 on a nearby site and was named in honour of
Queen Elizabeth II's
Sapphire Jubilee
In 2017, the term sapphire jubilee or blue sapphire jubilee was coined for the celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (see Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II). Previously, the sapphire wedding anniversary w ...
(65 years as monarch).
Home of the Romford Raiders
It was the home of the
Romford Raiders
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.
They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were based at the R ...
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 ...
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
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 ...
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
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, but initially it was decided to simply renovate the existing building.
In April 2013, the original Ice Arena closed permanently. 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. The ice hockey team returned to the new rink, but were renamed the
. Over half a million people used the new centre in its first year.