Altrincham Ice Dome
| Location | Oakfield Road Altrincham WA14 1BA England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°23′12″N 2°20′45″W / 53.3868°N 2.3458°WCoordinates: 53°23′12″N 2°20′45″W / 53.3868°N 2.3458°W |
| Owner |
 Mark Johnson |
| Operator | Silver Blades |
| Type | Sports Venue |
| Capacity | 2,440 (2140 Seated) |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Tenants | |
|
Manchester Phoenix (Tenants, 2007-2015) (Rink Teams) Manchester Storm, Altrincham Aces, Trafford Tornadoes |
|
| Website | |
| Silver Blades official website | |
Manchester Phoenix (Tenants, 2007-2015)
Altrincham Ice Dome is an ice rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It has 2,140 seats according to the rink website, and up to 300 standing places.
The Ice Dome hosts the home matches of the Manchester Storm and Altrincham Aces ice hockey clubs, as well as junior ice hockey (Trafford Tornadoes), public skating sessions, birthday parties, private events, and skating lessons. It was previously the home of the Manchester Phoenix until a legal dispute arose in 2014-2015 between the management of the Altrincham Ice Dome and the Phoenix team over alleged financial impropriety regarding junior teams at the venue.
The rink replaced the original Altrincham Ice Rink, which had closed in 2003. The Dome itself was originally meant to be replaced by a more permanent 3,000 seat facility as part of the Altair development, but changes to the plans have seen the current rink retained, with alterations to be made, including the addition of a 10 pin bowling facility
The Ice Dome is a prefabricated structure constructed in Finland. The building uses a wood and steel frame, with the lower half of the walls being made of brickwork, whilst the upper half and roof are clad in aluminum sheeting. The base of the ice pad is compacted sand which contains the pipework for the ice plant.
Assembly began in August 2006, and cost around £2.5m. The rink was due to open on 24 September 2006, when Manchester Phoenix were scheduled to host the Sheffield Steelers in their opening home game. But due to several delays,(), the opening was put back to 17 February 2007 match against the Edinburgh Capitals, with a reduced capacity of 1,200. However, due to the ice surface not being ready in time, the first game actually took place on 25 February 2007, against Basingstoke Bison. The number of people allowed into the building was just 1,000. The seating was finally finished in October 2007.
A series of plasma screen monitors were installed during the first half of the 2007–2008 season, to help the Phoenix improve the experience of the game night as well as countering the limited sightlines. Parts of the ice surface were obscured by walkways and access steps. The introduction of the screens has helped alleviate this as a live feed from the in house cameras is shown. The club also uses these screens during the pre-match build up and during breaks in play to improve the match night presentation. The rinks lighting system appeared to have been upgraded during the 2009–10 season, and an LED screen was fitted above the scoreboard. This screen currently advertise in-rink events.
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Wikipedia