Dundalk Ice dome – IrelandÂ’s first Olympic sized ice rink
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Opening December 2006 and hosting the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships Division 3 in April 2007.
Dundalk Ice Dome, the home of Irelands first indoor Olympic size ice rink. The Ice Dome is the first building of it’s kind in the Republic Of Ireland. If you want the enjoy the pleasure of ice skating, the thrill of ice hockey,or the excitement of curling and figure skating, come to the Ice Dome. Everybody is catered for, from the novice beginner to the International athlete.
A joint venture development with Dundalk based developers and landowners Finnabair
Estates with tenants of JJB Sports, the UK giants in retail and leisure development together
with Irish Ice Rink Leisure Limited, plus IIHA (Team Ireland) launched their brave new plans
for a series of Ice Domes in Ireland.The test bed and inaugural Ice Dome will be placed in a 650,000 Sqft complex based in the
developing sports and Leisure hot spot of North East Ireland that of Dundalk Co Louth.To launch the ice Dome was the Chairman of the Dundalk Council, Mr Martin Bellow, who
welcomed the development, as yet another groundbreaking step for Dundalk in its quest to be the leisure and entertainment capital of Ireland.TD Dermot Ahern, Minister of Foreign Affairs just left a meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Haines to be at the opening where he outlined the strategic importance of the current development of the JJB Complex and how the Ice Dome when finished will cost 12m Euros and employ over 30 people which is under contract to opened in December this year.
A Canadian company, Cimco, who are leading refrigeration and ice rink package manufacturers
and suppliers and are the internal ice plant and equipment providers who have not only
received the order for the internal ice pad construction but signed a contract to the effect that
the facility will be open and ready for use by December 4th 2006.Within a fifty-mile circumference of the Sports and Leisure Complex there is three million-
conurbation area to draw from. So this facility of the Ice Dome plus the JJB Complex and
indoor football facilities will be excellent test bed for further
development. Talking with the developers and the representatives of JJB both of which who
stated this is one of a further five sites that are being considered for such an Ice Dome and
leisure facility. Cork, Waterford, Derry and Limerick with the final jewel in the crown being
Dublin.Not all the complexes will house such an in-depth multi sport facility as Dundalk. To kick start the ice hockey program off a cross boarder League with three teams from the Republic and three from the North, who will be playing out of Dundonald Ice Bowl, is being finalized now.
Figure plus Speed Skating, Curling for the able bodied athletes plus Sledge Hockey and Wheel Chair Curling for the disable participants are also being planned.
Currently all the athletes from Team Ireland, the All Ireland
National Ice Hockey squad, has to travel north to Belfast to
train and play in either the Odyssey Arena or Dundonald.
That’s fine for the Northern based squad but players from the
rest of Ireland certainly have to be really committed to the sport to commute such great
distance just to train and then play games. The Belfast Giants, Ireland’s first professional ice
hockey team saw the problem and offered their ice time prior to games on Saturday or
Sunday night in the Odyssey Arena to Team Ireland which helped the program develop.With their own facility to develop the “Learn to Play” program
which has been initiated by Gold Medal winning Irish American from Boston coach Jim Tippetts who has been training team in France for the last 18 years to Olympic level the sport can only grow and take hold In this Emerald Else.Tibbetts also a professional coach from the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers stated his High School mentor once commented, “With knife blades on your feet and sticks in your hands how could the Irish not love the sport.”
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I should also give the website:
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This is cool stuff. About time we had such a facility.
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What about the Dundonald international ice bowl opened in the late 80s outside belfast was it not the first olympic sized ice rink???
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An new era in sporting entertainment begins in Dundalk this weekend with the opening of the first Ice Dome in the Irish Republic.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will officially open the 220,000 sq foot state-of-the-art venue during his visit to Dundalk on Friday.
And members of the public will be able to get their skates on when the Ice Dome opens to the public on Sunday morning at 10am.
Local Minister Dermot Ahern and the Canadian Ambassador will mark the occasion by placing two coins, Euro and Canadian dollars in the ice, while ‘Satitute’ presenter and singing sensation Brian Ormond will also be in attendence.
There’s a full programme of events planned over the coming weeks so that everyone can celebrate Christmas on Ice.
The rink will be open every day over the festive season, with the exception of Christmas Day, with public skating sessions, bumper cars on ice and disco nites.
And young visitors will also be able to pay a visit to Santa in his Grotto.
The Ice Dome is also home to Dundalk Ice Hockey club which has been set up to facilitate everyone who wants to learn to play this exciting sport.
And in a major coup for the developers, Dundalk has been chosen to host the Ice Hockey World Championships Division 3 in April 2007.
A spokesperson for the developers said that already great interest has been expressed by schools and others throughout the north east.
“The Ice Dome will be a huge boost for Dundalk and has the potential to stage events such as ‘Disney on Ice’ and ice-skating exhibitions as well as ice hockey competitions,” he commented.
Full details of opening times and events are available on http://www.dundalkicedome.com
It’s a great addition to Dundalk. However “Disney on Ice?” I think not. There’d be absolutely no room for it. I’ve been to 3 in the US with the kids and the stage and backstage area for the show takes up almost a quarter of a 20,000 seater arena. Plus at 700 seats in dundalk there’d be almost as many on the cast and crew as watching it. They honestly should have put in at least 2000 seats with a vision to the future. As is, it’ll never amount to anything but a low-level pay-as-you-go skating rink. -
An new era in sporting entertainment begins in Dundalk this weekend with the opening of the first Ice Dome in the Irish Republic.
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will officially open the 220,000 sq foot state-of-the-art venue during his visit to Dundalk on Friday.
And members of the public will be able to get their skates on when the Ice Dome opens to the public on Sunday morning at 10am.
Local Minister Dermot Ahern and the Canadian Ambassador will mark the occasion by placing two coins, Euro and Canadian dollars in the ice, while ‘Satitute’ presenter and singing sensation Brian Ormond will also be in attendence.
There’s a full programme of events planned over the coming weeks so that everyone can celebrate Christmas on Ice.
The rink will be open every day over the festive season, with the exception of Christmas Day, with public skating sessions, bumper cars on ice and disco nites.
And young visitors will also be able to pay a visit to Santa in his Grotto.
The Ice Dome is also home to Dundalk Ice Hockey club which has been set up to facilitate everyone who wants to learn to play this exciting sport.
And in a major coup for the developers, Dundalk has been chosen to host the Ice Hockey World Championships Division 3 in April 2007.
A spokesperson for the developers said that already great interest has been expressed by schools and others throughout the north east.
“The Ice Dome will be a huge boost for Dundalk and has the potential to stage events such as ‘Disney on Ice’ and ice-skating exhibitions as well as ice hockey competitions,†he commented.
Full details of opening times and events are available on http://www.dundalkicedome.com
It’s a great addition to Dundalk. However “Disney on Ice?” I think not. There’d be absolutely no room for it. I’ve been to 3 in the US with the kids and the stage and backstage area for the show takes up almost a quarter of a 20,000 seater arena. Plus at 700 seats in dundalk there’d be almost as many on the cast and crew as watching it. They honestly should have put in at least 2000 seats with a vision to the future. As is, it’ll never amount to anything but a low-level pay-as-you-go skating rink. -
is it better than the one up in belfast ?
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is it actually a dome?
google around for picture of the outside/entire building, people mention the small amount of seating for an international sized rink…?
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how financially viable is a rink that size?
also, more improtantly, will there be ice karting? -
is it better than the one up in belfast ?
Ah im not too sure on this but I think its a bigger ice rink but Odyssey up in Belfast is a bigger arena!
is it actually a dome?
google around for picture of the outside/entire building, people mention the small amount of seating for an international sized rink…?
The reason behind why its called the Ice Dome is because its has been built at the end of JJB Soccer Dome
700 seats is about three rows all the way round approximately… just raised a laugh in the office did that
If you look at this picture you can see that seeting is only on one side!
how financially viable is a rink that size?
also, more improtantly, will there be ice karting?I cant answer your first question but as for you 2ed just look at the time table
Two plan drawings of the Ice Dome
http://www.iiha.org/news/images/ice_dome_area_plan.jpg
http://www.iiha.org/news/images/ice_dome_interior_plan.jpg -
Pretty cool 😀
At least its not in Dublin and they’ve had the sense to decentralise a major project like this to somewhere else 🙂
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It’s not so much a dome as not a dome……………..
But there will be bumbin cars on ice.
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@eamoss wrote:
Ah im not too sure on this but I think its a bigger ice rink but Odyssey up in Belfast is a bigger arena!
The reason behind why its called the Ice Dome is because its has been built at the end of JJB Soccer Dome
hahah wow, reminds me of womens breasts, those curves LOL
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I just saw in Wikipedia that not only did Dundalk host the Division III IIHF World Championship but that by virtue of coming second we are promoted to Div II 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_IIHF_World_Championship_Division_III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_national_ice_hockey_teamLike the cricket team I’m sure there are some weird accents among the team but still…
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i saw ireland v mongolia; my first time watching ice hockey so i can’t comment: the facility was impressive and had a lot of atmosphere inside, the location, edge of town, huge carpark, kfc and two sports complexes designed with no thought to their exteriors, was kind of godforsaken though, kind of dismal compared to everyone spilling out onto the ncr after something in croke park. i wish these things could be built in town, whatever town they are in.
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Hi all,
I remember seeing the excitement when I first read this thread and to be honest I’m surprised how far things have come in Dundalk. The facility is great, and the people running it are putting in 110%. they are working hard to get people young and old into the Ice Hockey and figure skating with learn to play and learn to skate programs.
They’ve recently hosted 3 Belfast Giants games and are holding another one on the 20th march. And the Belfast Giants fans have commented how well everything is done, and done with a smile.
Anyway since the ice rink was finished there are fourteen teams playing there reqularly and new websites and forums have been set up to keep us hardcore hockey fans intouch. This link (from the ice hockey governing body’s site) was but if recently, it makes a good read.
WE JUST NEED MORE RINKS!!
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