Blackburn Arena

Blackburn Arena Location in Blackburn Town Centre
Location	Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Coordinates	53°44′34″N 2°28′50″W / 53.74278°N 2.48056°W / 53.74278; -2.48056
Operator	Planet Ice
Type	Ice Arena
Capacity	3,200
Field size	60 × 30 m (197 × 98 ft)
Construction
Broke ground	1989 (1989)
Opened	1991 (1991)
Renovated	2005 (2005)
Tenants
Blackburn Hawks Blackburn Eagles Lancashire Raptors	1991– 2012– 2007–2012
Website
www.blackburnicearena.co.uk

The arena can seat over 3,000 people. (January 2006)

Blackburn Arena is an Olympic-size ice arena in Blackburn, England. It is the home of Blackburn Hawks and Blackburn Eagles ice hockey clubs. The arena, which was opened in January 1991 by Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, holds 3,200 people and has an ice pad of 60 by 30 metres (197 by 98 ft).^[1] The arena was built to coincide with Manchester’s 1996 Summer Olympic bid, with the possibility of boxing contests being held there. It was refurbished in 2005. It is currently operated by Planet Ice.

The arena was originally owned by Blackburn Council before being sold to the Peel Group. It was subsequently sold to the Silver Blades in 2015.^[2]

WCW (World Championship Wrestling) held a tour event at the arena in October 1993, as did the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) the following year, and rock band Status Quo held the only concert to date there in November 1994 as part of their Thirsty Work world tour.^[3]

A junior development scheme for ice hockey is based at the arena, with teams for under 10s, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 18s. These teams all go under the name of Blackburn Junior Hawks.

The arena is open seven days a week for public ice skating sessions, and includes a café and hockey shop.

References