Centrum Arena (Prestwick)
Encyclopedia
The Centrum Arena was a 2,733 seat ice arena in Prestwick
, South Ayrshire
, Scotland
that opened on 25th August 1996. The arena was used during the winter months for recreational ice skating and ice hockey matches. In the summer months, the arena was used for various events such as the Chinese State Circus. The Centrum was famous as being the home of the Ayr Scottish Eagles ice hockey club from 1996 until 2002. The building was located at 125 Ayr Road on public land and was demolished in 2009. Today the site is occupied by a supermarket.
, Kyle and Carrick
District council
granted a 100 year lease for the site on which the Centrum was built, to enable construction of a replacement facility for the former Ayr Ice Rink. A condition attached to the lease was that the site could only be used for a multi purpose arena. The site is now owned by South Ayrshire Council on behalf of the public.
Caledonian Ice Hockey Ltd, part of the Glen Henderson Group, began construction of the Centrum in 1986 as a replacement rink for the Ayr Raiders Ice Hockey Club. During the construction phase, notable people related to ice sports visited the facility including Torvill and Dean
.
The construction phase was delayed and the building stood incomplete for a substantial period after the project had been abandoned, before being acquired by Barr Holdings Ltd in 1993.
Barr Leisure Ltd whilst securing £500,000.00 of National Lottery
Funding, invested further sums to complete the project.
Ice Hockey
Club. The Eagles played their first home game on 1 September 1996.
Designed as a purpose built ice hockey arena, at the time the Centrum had the United Kingdom's largest ice pad at 103 by 200 ft (31.4 by 61 m), designed to International Ice Hockey Federation
specification, seating 2,733 persons with several VIP booths.
The Centrum had a four faced ice hockey scoreboard
over the faceoff circle with a rotating advertisement wheel beneath displaying Barr Holdings Limited's subsidiary companies. Two Ice resurfacer
machines were kept of the Zamboni
marque.
The Centrum contained a sports bar to the rear called Tholos, a fitness centre to the front called Aurigin and an ice hockey pro shop selling ice hockey equipment as well as replica Eagles ice hockey jerseys. Public skating was offered with skate hire facilities.
The Centrum was mainly used as an ice-hockey venue for the Ice Hockey Superleague
but was also capable of hosting events such as the Chinese State Circus
and motor shows both in the off-season and during winter by covering the ice pad.
When the Eagles ice hockey club moved to Braehead Arena
in 2002, the Centrum Arena effectively closed its doors to the public although was still used for practise by the Eagles on occasion - the Eagles ice hockey club went bankrupt after six home games at Braehead. The last ice hockey match held at the Centrum was staged on 4 February 2003. Organised by Friends of Eagles Hockey, this exhibition match was a fund raising event to raise funds for players and officials who had been left in financial difficulty due to the bankruptcy of Ice hockey services Ltd, the Eagles operating company.
Local ice hockey fan group, Friends of Eagles Hockey, campaigned for the return of ice hockey to the Centrum Arena after the Eagles's demise and indeed for a replacement facility once the Centrum was demolished.
in County Louth
, Republic of Ireland
.
On 6 November 2006, Dawn Construction announced purchase of the leasehold from Barr Holdings Ltd for a sum around £700,000.00
and went into dialogue with South Ayrshire Council into possible alternative uses for the site.
The South Ayrshire Local Plan that was adopted by South Ayrshire Council on 6 April 2007, that outlines policies for the development and use of land in South Ayrshire states Policy Tourism 3 was associated with the Centrum.
Planet Ice approached Dawn Developments Limited to enquire about running the facility as an ice rink but were turned down by Dawn. Shortly after, Dawn lodged an application to demolish the rink that proved contentious amongst the local public who were concerned over the loss of the facilities and that a supermarket may be constructed on the site. It was stated by South Ayrshire Council that there were no plans for a supermarket to be constructed on the site. The Centrum's demolition was opposed by Friends of the Eagles Hockey but supported by Prestwick Community Council who seen its demolition a step toward regeneration of the Prestwick Toll area stating that the Centrum had become a target for vandals.
The demolition of the Centrum commenced on Monday 16 February 2009, after being brought forward from its original scheduled demolition in late 2009. Dawn Developments stated that this was due to pressure from Prestwick Community council who had concerns that the Centrum would become a target for anti social behaviour including vandalism. The demolition contractor was N&R Demolitions Ltd.
The supermarket, which was opened on Wednesday 14 July 2010 is situated at the rear of the site that was the location of the over flow car park for the Centrum. The accommodation comprises 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²) of shop space.
The ground lease will expire on 31 August 2109.
Prestwick
Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...
, South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
that opened on 25th August 1996. The arena was used during the winter months for recreational ice skating and ice hockey matches. In the summer months, the arena was used for various events such as the Chinese State Circus. The Centrum was famous as being the home of the Ayr Scottish Eagles ice hockey club from 1996 until 2002. The building was located at 125 Ayr Road on public land and was demolished in 2009. Today the site is occupied by a supermarket.
History
In the early 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, Kyle and Carrick
Kyle and Carrick
Kyle and Carrick was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996....
District council
District council
District council may refer to:*A Town council, a unit of local government in many jurisdictions*A branch of the Local government in the United Kingdom:**Supervising one of the Districts of England:***A Metropolitan borough***A Non-metropolitan district...
granted a 100 year lease for the site on which the Centrum was built, to enable construction of a replacement facility for the former Ayr Ice Rink. A condition attached to the lease was that the site could only be used for a multi purpose arena. The site is now owned by South Ayrshire Council on behalf of the public.
Caledonian Ice Hockey Ltd, part of the Glen Henderson Group, began construction of the Centrum in 1986 as a replacement rink for the Ayr Raiders Ice Hockey Club. During the construction phase, notable people related to ice sports visited the facility including Torvill and Dean
Torvill and Dean
Torvill and Dean are British ice dancers and former British-, European-, Olympic- and World champions...
.
The construction phase was delayed and the building stood incomplete for a substantial period after the project had been abandoned, before being acquired by Barr Holdings Ltd in 1993.
Barr Leisure Ltd whilst securing £500,000.00 of National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
Funding, invested further sums to complete the project.
Operation
Opening on 25 August 1996, the Centrum was run by Barr Leisure Limited a subsidiary of Barr Holdings Ltd and became home of the Ayr Scottish EaglesAyr Scottish Eagles
The Ayr Scottish Eagles were a professional Scottish ice hockey club, from Ayr, Scotland. They were formed in 1996 and played their home games at the Centrum Arena. The team competed in the Ice Hockey Superleague and the club's main sponsor was Barr Construction...
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
Club. The Eagles played their first home game on 1 September 1996.
Designed as a purpose built ice hockey arena, at the time the Centrum had the United Kingdom's largest ice pad at 103 by 200 ft (31.4 by 61 m), designed to International Ice Hockey Federation
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation is the worldwide governing body for ice hockey and in-line hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 70 members...
specification, seating 2,733 persons with several VIP booths.
The Centrum had a four faced ice hockey scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
over the faceoff circle with a rotating advertisement wheel beneath displaying Barr Holdings Limited's subsidiary companies. Two Ice resurfacer
Ice resurfacer
An ice resurfacer is a truck-like vehicle or smaller device used to clean and smooth the surface of an ice rink. The first ice resurfacer was developed by Frank J. Zamboni in 1949 in the city of Paramount, California...
machines were kept of the Zamboni
Frank Zamboni
Frank Joseph Zamboni, Jr. was a U.S. inventor whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname becoming a generic colloquialism and trademark for these resurfacers.-Biography:...
marque.
The Centrum contained a sports bar to the rear called Tholos, a fitness centre to the front called Aurigin and an ice hockey pro shop selling ice hockey equipment as well as replica Eagles ice hockey jerseys. Public skating was offered with skate hire facilities.
The Centrum was mainly used as an ice-hockey venue for the Ice Hockey Superleague
Ice Hockey Superleague
The Ice Hockey Superleague was a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2003. Formed in 1995, it replaced the Premier Division of the British Hockey League, it was the highest level of ice hockey competition in the United Kingdom...
but was also capable of hosting events such as the Chinese State Circus
Chinese State Circus
To say the Chinese State Circus is merely a show is grossly to underestimate it; it is the embodiment of a traditional art form which can trace its history back over 2000 years. The presentation lives and breathes with the enthusiasm of its acrobatic artistes whose whole lives centre in the...
and motor shows both in the off-season and during winter by covering the ice pad.
When the Eagles ice hockey club moved to Braehead Arena
Braehead Arena
The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland, in the western part of the Glasgow conurbation. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex....
in 2002, the Centrum Arena effectively closed its doors to the public although was still used for practise by the Eagles on occasion - the Eagles ice hockey club went bankrupt after six home games at Braehead. The last ice hockey match held at the Centrum was staged on 4 February 2003. Organised by Friends of Eagles Hockey, this exhibition match was a fund raising event to raise funds for players and officials who had been left in financial difficulty due to the bankruptcy of Ice hockey services Ltd, the Eagles operating company.
Local ice hockey fan group, Friends of Eagles Hockey, campaigned for the return of ice hockey to the Centrum Arena after the Eagles's demise and indeed for a replacement facility once the Centrum was demolished.
Closure
The sports bar Tholos and fitness centre Aurigin remained open whilst the arena was closed. The Centrum arena stood for empty for six years after being stripped out of most of the equipment and indeed, the scoreboard can be seen at Dundalk Ice DomeDundalk Ice Dome
Dundalk Ice Dome is the 1st permanent ice arena in Ireland, located in Dundalk Retail Park, Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. The Ice Dome aims to become the centre of excellence for ice hockey in Ireland. It is currently home to the Irish national ice hockey squad and local team the...
in County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
On 6 November 2006, Dawn Construction announced purchase of the leasehold from Barr Holdings Ltd for a sum around £700,000.00
and went into dialogue with South Ayrshire Council into possible alternative uses for the site.
The South Ayrshire Local Plan that was adopted by South Ayrshire Council on 6 April 2007, that outlines policies for the development and use of land in South Ayrshire states Policy Tourism 3 was associated with the Centrum.
Planet Ice approached Dawn Developments Limited to enquire about running the facility as an ice rink but were turned down by Dawn. Shortly after, Dawn lodged an application to demolish the rink that proved contentious amongst the local public who were concerned over the loss of the facilities and that a supermarket may be constructed on the site. It was stated by South Ayrshire Council that there were no plans for a supermarket to be constructed on the site. The Centrum's demolition was opposed by Friends of the Eagles Hockey but supported by Prestwick Community Council who seen its demolition a step toward regeneration of the Prestwick Toll area stating that the Centrum had become a target for vandals.
The demolition of the Centrum commenced on Monday 16 February 2009, after being brought forward from its original scheduled demolition in late 2009. Dawn Developments stated that this was due to pressure from Prestwick Community council who had concerns that the Centrum would become a target for anti social behaviour including vandalism. The demolition contractor was N&R Demolitions Ltd.
The site today
The site was entirely redeveloped. A petrol station and carpark of the new Sainsbury's supermarket are located where the Centrum formerly stood.The supermarket, which was opened on Wednesday 14 July 2010 is situated at the rear of the site that was the location of the over flow car park for the Centrum. The accommodation comprises 45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²) of shop space.
The ground lease will expire on 31 August 2109.