Dundalk Ice Dome now lies boarded up having closed its doors in 2010
The Irish Ice Hockey Association has called for Dundalk Ice Dome to be reopened, with the organisation offering to put up half of the costs to ensure it does.
The facility at Dundalk Retail Park on the Inner Relief Road has been lying idle since closing its doors in May 2010.
However, the IIHA are now desperate to see it reopen as Team Ireland, the nation’s representatives on the global hockey stage, are at risk of losing their right to participate in international tournaments due to the fact they do not have a basic arena measuring 60×30 metres.
Since the closure of Dundalk Ice Dome almost five years ago, the team have trained at temporary facilities like the Point Village on Ice.
However, it will shut down in March after an 8-week extension was granted by Dublin City Council, partly to facilitate the Irish team. When it closes the IIHA said the team will not meet sporting guidelines and therefore lose full membership status with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
That means Team Ireland will no longer be able to compete internationally, despite some strong performances in recent years like when the team took home gold from the IIHF Championships in Luxembourg in 2010.
While many ice hockey players and figure skaters travel to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast to train at the home of the Belfast Giants, a rink is badly needed in the Republic with general secretary of the Irish Ice Hockey Association Mark Bowes pointing out to UTV Ireland this week that Dublin remains the only capital city in Europe without a permanent ice rink.
With a deadline to meet standards set for May, Mr Bowe said that the situation looks bleak “unless we can pull a rabbit out of a hat and get a rink.”
He said that the only realistic solution before the deadline would be to extend the Point Village licence on a “semi-permanent basis” or reopen the Dundalk rink – to which the Irish Ice Hockey Association would be willing to put forward “half of the revenue”.
He added: “We are continuing to work with the local authorities and government departments and we remain relentless in our efforts to find a way to achieve a permanent rink in Ireland.”
In November 2013, the IIHA’s then president Aaron Guli offered hope of the rink reopening early last year. It had been hoped that UK-based rink operator Planet Ice – who ran Dundalk On Ice in the Market Square last Christmas – would bid for the tender to run the facility from Dundalk IT, who have taken over that part of the Retail Park, including the former JJB facility.
The college had hoped to open a new sports facility at JJB last September but this has been delayed until this summer at the earliest.
Mr Bowes told UTV Ireland that despite hockey perhaps being perceived as a niche activity in Ireland, there are a lot of people seeking to play or take up the skating which would make a rink feasible.
“Anytime we open up a festive rink we see the level of commitment of people from eastern European nations [where ice hockey is popular], and even local kids, in ice hockey and skating… The demand is there.”
“Ice hockey is an incredible way to get kids out playing a sport that is both exciting and fun… But anytime we get our ice hockey programmes up and running the rink is gone.”
Talk of the Town 