National Ice Centre facts for kids
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The Olympic Rink at the National Ice Centre
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| Location | Bolero Square The Lace Market Nottingham NG1 1LA United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 52°57′10″N 1°8′22″W / 52.95278°N 1.13944°W |
| Owner | Nottingham City Council |
| Capacity | 7,500 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1993 |
| Opened | 1 April 2000 |
| Construction cost | £43 million |
| Tenants | |
| Nottingham Panthers (2000–present) | |
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is a super cool ice rink located in Nottingham, England. It's just east of the city centre, near the old Lace Market area. The NIC was the first place in the UK to have two Olympic-sized ice rinks. This was a big step forward for ice skating in the country!
The NIC also includes the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. This means it's a place for both ice sports and big live shows. The first ice rink, inside the Arena, opened on 1 April 2000. It was opened by Olympic Gold Medalist, Jayne Torvill. The second Olympic-sized rink opened a year later, on 7 April 2001.
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History of the Ice Centre
Building the Ice Centre
The National Ice Centre was built where the old Nottingham Ice Stadium used to be. That stadium opened way back in 1939 and was getting quite old. Plans to replace it were first announced in September 1995.
The new centre was expected to cost about £13 million. Some of this money came from the National Lottery. By October 1996, the British Olympic Association was also supporting the idea.
To make space for the new ice centre, some buildings had to be taken down. This included an old Art Deco warehouse and a pub called "The Old Cricket Players." The old Ice Stadium closed in March 2000. By May 2000, it was almost completely gone.
This old stadium was where Olympic ice dancing champions Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean) used to train. To honor their amazing achievements, the square in front of the new building was named 'Bolero Square'.
During the digging for the new building in July 1998, something very old was found. Workers discovered a rare 1,100-year-old Saxon jug! You can see this jug on display at the Nottingham Castle Museum. They also found a graveyard from the 1800s under the car park.
Opening Day Fun
The National Ice Centre officially opened on 1 April 2000. Olympic Gold Medalist Jayne Torvill did the honors. The first public skating sessions started that same month.
The second part of the project, the 'family rink', opened earlier than planned. It welcomed skaters on 7 April 2001. The whole project ended up costing £43 million. A big part of this, 10%, came from the National Lottery. This was one of the largest grants they ever gave!
HM The Queen herself visited the National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena. She came on 31 July 2002.
What You Can Do at the NIC
The Arena opened in April 2000. It's super flexible! It can be an Olympic-sized ice rink for sports. But it can also turn into a concert venue. When there's a concert, the ice is covered up. The seats and stage are changed to fit the show.
The Arena can hold 7,500 people for ice sports. For concerts, it can fit up to 10,000 people!
The Olympic Rink was the second ice pad to open, in April 2001. People sometimes call it the 'family rink'. This is where you can go for public ice skating sessions. It also hosts fun family events.
The NIC uses its two ice pads for all sorts of ice sports. You can find ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, and synchronized skating here. The centre helps beginners learn these sports. It's also a training ground for many top ice skaters.
Meet the Nottingham Panthers
The Arena is the home of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team. This team started in 1946. They stopped playing in 1960 but reformed 20 years later.
The Panthers have won the Challenge Cup finals eight times. This is since the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) began in 2003. They have also won five of the eight EIHL play-off finals between 2003 and 2017.
In January 2017, the Nottingham Panthers made history! They became the first British ice hockey team to win a European trophy. This was the IIHF Continental Cup. Winning this cup helped them qualify for Europe's Champions Hockey League in 2017. They even made it to the last 16 teams!
GB Speed Skating Squad Training
The National Ice Skating Association (NISA) has chosen the National Ice Centre as a special place for Short Track Speed Skating. It's where the GB Short Track Speed Skating Squad trains.
The squad prepared for the 2018 Winter Olympics right here at the NIC. They then flew out to PyeongChang at the end of January 2018.
ISU World Champion, Elise Christie, is part of this squad. She won three world titles in 2017. Christie broke the 500 meter short track speed skating world record on 13 November 2016. This happened in Salt Lake City, United States. The NIC celebrated her achievement with a special banner. It calls her the "fastest woman on ice"!
Ice Stars TV Show
The awesome TV documentary series, Ice Stars, was filmed at the National Ice Centre. This show was made for CBBC. It showed the different types of ice skating that young skaters at the NIC do. So far, there have been three series of Ice Stars. The first series aired in 2015.
The show featured young ice hockey players and speed skaters. It also showed teams from the Nottingham Synchronized Skating Academy (NSSA). Plus, members of the NIC Figure Skating & Ice Dance Academy were on the show. The NIC has put a lot of effort into supporting Ice Stars. They hope it will make more people interested in ice skating across the UK.
Ice Stars is listed as a Live-action programme. You can find it in the BBC children's TV programmes list.
Being Green at the NIC
The National Ice Centre is an Industry Green accredited venue. This means it's committed to using much less energy. The centre thinks about how much electricity, water, and heat it uses. It also considers the actions of all staff, contractors, and visitors.
The NIC works to manage its impact on the environment. This includes:
- How much electricity, water, heat, gas, and other things it uses.
- How much waste and pollution it creates and gets rid of.
- Air pollution from travel related to the business.
On Saturday 22 April 2017, the NIC took part in Earth Day 2017. On that day, the NIC used only solar power for one hour! The average energy used in one hour on a Saturday is 500 KWh. This is like 40 hairdryers being used for 30 minutes every day for a whole year! To encourage green travel, the NIC offered an ice skating discount. This was for customers who came by public transport or walked.
