New ACT ice sports facility to be named Canberra Arena

A new 3600-capacity ice sports facility will be built in the nation’s capital, with its name unveiled as Canberra Arena.

The ACT Government is committing $16.2 million in funding for the new Tuggeranong facility, which will be built on a vacant block on Rowland Rees Crescent next to the Alpha Hotel in Greenway near the Town Centre.

Canberra Arena will be home to Canberra’s ice sport athletes including the national ice hockey champions, the CBR Brave, with the goal of becoming a national centre of excellence.

The new facility will feature two international-standard ice sheets for figure skating, broomball, speed skating and ice hockey, as well as dedicated curling sheets – the first of its kind in Australia.

The venue will also include an Olympic-standard indoor rock climbing facility.

Amenities will include change rooms, player benches, penalty boxes and judging platforms, as well as a retail/pro shop, skate rental facilities, café/kiosk and restaurant, office and administration space and concessions areas in the main ice rink.

It’s hoped construction will commence by the end of the year and officially open in 2025. The project is expected to cost between $45-50 million.

A range of environmentally sustainable features will be incorporated as part of the arena’s design, including solar panels to reduce energy consumption and the provision of LED sports lighting.

The ACT Government accepted the detailed proposal from developers Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings in late 2022 to design, construct, own, operate and maintain the new facility.

The new Canberra Arena will replace the ageing Phillip ice rink, which was recently acquired by property developer Geocon.

ACT Ice Sports Federation President Tony Prescott welcomed the progress.

“The ACT Ice Sports Federation is committed to partnering with the ACT Government along with Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings to realise our dream of a state-of-the-art facility capable of meeting the future needs of all of our ice sports, and creating new opportunities and pathways for local kids,” he said.

“We anticipate the new facility also will become a national centre of excellence for ice sports and a natural home for local, national and international level ice sports events.”

Stephen Campbell, Director, Cruachan Investments, said: “This is an exciting time for ice sports in the ACT. A new facility of international standard will provide the perfect environment to encourage more people to participate in ice sports and provide exceptional amenities for those spectating.”

“We are looking forward to creating Australia’s first ice sports school program to give every young person the opportunity to engage in figure skating, ice hockey, broomball, speed skating and curling,” he said.