Temporary ice rink to be established at MyState Bank Arena in June
In news that has delighted the state’s ice sports community, a temporary ice rink will be installed in Hobart’s northern suburbs later this year. The new home.
Tasmania
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A temporary ice rink will be established in Hobart’s northern suburbs later this year, delighting the local ice sports community, which has been without a permanent facility since 2022.
MyState Bank Arena announced on Tuesday that a 30m x 15m pop-up ice rink would open at the venue on June 16 and would be accessible until July 27.
It comes after the closure of a long-running privately operated ice rink in Glenorchy three years ago.
Ticket prices for the temporary rink will include skate hire and start at $22 for kids aged 5-14 and cost $29 for people over the age of 15.
Sessions will begin at 9am, with the last session of each day starting at 4.30pm.
Ice Sports Tasmania (IST), the peak body for the sport, has been working with the state government to secure a permanent rink for the future.
IST president Anna Holliday said she was “super excited” and “extremely grateful” that MyState Bank Arena had taken the initiative to establish a rink, even if it was only for a month.
“We’ve been working with them behind the scenes to try and [identify] any opportunities that we can bring to Tassie that involve an ice sports opportunity of any kind while we’re waiting for the permanent solution,” she said.
“So this will be an incredible opportunity for Tasmanians, more broadly, including the ice sports community, to be able to have access to real ice again in Tassie.
“I just want to underscore that with the fact that it is a temporary solution and it’s not enough for the ice sports community to be able to return to their sport, as we are hoping to, on a permanent, sustained basis.”
A feasibility study commissioned by the government found there was demand for about 75,000 visits to a prospective Tasmanian ice rink each year, which demonstrated that such a facility would be viable.
Since the closure of the Glenorchy venue, Ms Holliday said ice sports had become “sports of the privileged” in Tasmania, with athletes forced to travel interstate just to train.
“Often it’s actually a situation where the families can’t really afford to do it,” she said.
“It’s just such a big deal for them to not have their sport anymore.”
In November, Sports Minister Nick Duigan said the government had “put the call out” to investors as it moved toward establishing a formal expressions of interest process for a new ice rink in Hobart.
“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes with our sporting sector bodies and we’re now seeking interest from potential investors to build a new facility,” he said.
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