Wales National Ice Rink

Wales National Ice Rink
The venue seen before demolition
Map
LocationCardiff, Wales
Coordinates51°28′39″N 3°10′25″W / 51.477621°N 3.173719°W / 51.477621; -3.173719
Capacity2,700 (ice hockey)
Construction
OpenedSeptember 1986
ClosedJune 2006
DemolishedSeptember 2006
ArchitectAlex Robertson, Peter Francis & Partners[1]
Tenants
Cardiff Devils

Wales National Ice Rink (WNIR) was an ice rink in Cardiff, Wales. It had a capacity of 2,700 for ice hockey and was the former home of the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team. It was opened in September 1986,[1] and was inaugurated by Sarah, Duchess of York on 27 April 1987.[2]

The WNIR was also used for professional boxing events and occasionally as a concert venue. It was demolished in September 2006[2][3] to make way for expansion of the St David's, Cardiff Shopping Centre,[4] with the site now occupied by department store John Lewis.[5]

Music events

Artists and bands that have performed at the venue include The Alarm, Status Quo, Blur, Wet Wet Wet, Faith No More, Chris de Burgh,[6] Extreme, Madness, The Brian May Band, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Prodigy and Deacon Blue.[7] During the KISS concert on 20 May 1992, as part of their Revenge Tour, a pyro cue for "Heaven's on Fire" caused £20,000 worth of damage to the ceiling.[8][9] Meat Loaf performed here on 4 December 1993 as part of the Everything Louder Tour to a crowd of 4,300.

Closure

In April 2006, the final ice hockey game hosted at the location was a special "End Of An Era" game featuring former Devils players against the 2005/2006 Devils squad. The facility later closed to leisure skaters in June 2006. Following the closure, the temporary Cardiff Bay Ice Rink was constructed at the Cardiff International Sports Village within the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff,[4][10] which was used to host Devil's home games until the opening of Ice Arena Wales in March 2016.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Flynn, Jessica (12 December 2014). "Ice, ice baby". WalesOnline. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Doran, Lorna (4 February 2016). "Bye bye Cardiff Bay Ice Arena and thanks for all the memories". walesonline. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ "CARDIFFWALESMAP • View topic - Cardiff's new ice rink is tested out by professional skaters". cardiffwalesmap.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Cardiff temporary ice rink opens". 1 December 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. ^ Silk, Huw (20 August 2016). "Remember this? Here's what Cardiff looked like a decade ago". walesonline. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. ^ "On This Day 05/12/1992 Chris De Burgh". Cardiff Live. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Wales National Ice Rink, Cardiff, Wales Concert Setlists". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  8. ^ "On This Day - Ice Rink Cardiff - May 20 1992". Cardiff Live. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ "The KISS UK tour blazed into Cardiff 23 years ago; Echoes of the past". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Bay ice arena gets planning boost". BBC News. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
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