National Ice Centre (UK)
Encyclopedia
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Just east of the city centre, it is close to the historic Lace Market
Lace Market
The Lace Market is an historic quarter-mile square area of Nottingham, England.Once the heart of the world's lace industry during the days of the British Empire, it is full of impressive examples of 19th century industrial architecture and thus is a protected heritage area...
area. The facility neighbours the Capital FM Arena Nottingham.
The site has hosted an ice arena since 1939, but the old building was showing its age: hence its nickname, "The Barn". Several buildings were demolished to make way for the new arena, including an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
warehouse on the opposite side of Barker Gate, and bodies had to be exhumed from a nineteenth century graveyard found under the car park. This obviously led to some controversy at the time, but The Old Cricket Players pub was initially spared. It was eventually pulled down to make way for an apartment block called the "Ice House". The Ice Stadium
Nottingham Ice Stadium
The Nottingham Ice Stadium was an ice rink in Nottingham, England 1939 - 2000.The building was first opened in 1939 but it was quickly called upon for other purposes...
closed in April 2000 and was demolished soon after to make way for the building of the second public rink.
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...
funds. The plans were unveiled in October 1996, by which time the British Olympic Association
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association is the national Olympic committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons, and at that time consisted of seven national governing body members from the following sports: fencing, life-saving, cycling, skating, rowing,...
had got behind the proposal. The first public skating session took place in April 2000. The final cost of the project was around £40m, 10% of which came from the lottery - one of the highest grants awarded.
Nottingham Panthers
The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League...
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...
team, founded in 1946 (although disbanded in 1960 and reformed 20 years later). The earlier building was the training ground for Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
ice dancing
Ice dancing
Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....
champions Torvill and Dean
Torvill and Dean
Torvill and Dean are British ice dancers and former British-, European-, Olympic- and World champions...
(Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill
Jayne Torvill, OBE is a British ice dancer. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.-Early life:...
& Christopher Dean
Christopher Dean
Christopher Colin Dean, OBE is a famous British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill...
), who led the first public skating session in the new building. The square in front of the building was re-named 'Bolero Square' to honour their great achievements. There are two ice pads. The capacity of the main arena is 10,000. The NIC is also a Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
hotspot
Hotspot
Hot spot generally refers to small areas of intense or important activity embedded in a larger area of relative calm. Specifically, it may refer to:-Arts and entertainment:* Hot Spot , a 1963 Musical...
using the BT Openzone
BT Openzone
BT Openzone is a Wi-Fi hotspot service provided by BT Group. BT operates around 4,000 wireless stations in the UK, located in public locations such as cafés, hotels, pubs, stations and airports; BT's network accounts for 40% of the UK's wifi hotspot population...
network.
A rare 1,100 year old Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
jug was turned up during excavations in July 1998. It was put on display at the Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle is a castle in Nottingham, England. It is located in a commanding position on a natural promontory known as "'Castle Rock'", with cliffs high to the south and west. In the Middle Ages it was a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence...
Museum.
Nottingham Arena and was renamed the Trent FM Arena on first April 2008, as part of a four year naming rights for the local radio station. The Arena is still managed by Nottingham Ice Centre Ltd.
The arena was again re-branded in 2011, becoming the 'Capital FM Arena Nottingham' in order to coincide with the nationwide launch of Capital FM.