In what we feel may well be a world exclusive, we are pleased to report that the building work on the new ice rink on the site of the old TVR factory site in Blackpool appears to be approaching completion and we have been told it is looking “very good” indeed.
Now, I haven’t seen it myself and I make no claim to any
amount of cutting edge investigative
journalism on my part here - all this comes by way of a chance meeting
and brief conversation in our local Booths Supermarket with local hockey legend
Bobby Hall that I thought I might share with you.
“What?” I hear you cry incredulously, “Bobby Hull was
in your supermarket..?” To which I reply: no, it wasn’t Bobby Hull – NHL legend
of Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets fame – although now that you’ve
mentioned him, we might as well leave him in as it will help with the Google
search optimisation....
No, this is Bobby HALL - Blackpool Seagulls legend who won
the ELN title in both 1980/81 and 1981/2 and also took part in the first-ever
British Championship play off weekend at Streatham in 1982. Bob was one of the
key movers in getting the new Blackpool Seagulls recreational team off the
ground when the SubZero rink opened on Cleveleys promenade in 2011. He was telling
me that he had been to check out the new rink building and that it was looking
“really good” - and, with a guy of Bob’s experience of ice rinks, if he says it
is looking good then I will happily take his word for it.
He said: “The ice pad is looking fantastic – among the best
I have ever seen. It has plexi-glass all round, proper penalty boxes... The
changing room area is looking good too.”
I asked about the spectators’ facilities as the original
outline proposals sounded less than promising.
Bob said: “The
spectators balcony has a really good view of the ice. It’s not like in some places where if you are not seated in
the front row, then you can’t see the ice properly. I think they have actually
put a lot more resources into doing this than they have been letting on.
Looking around, by the time everything is in place, there could be a capacity
around the rink for up to 500 people.”
So far so good, then – although we haven’t actually had any
official statements yet from the rink owners as to when the venue might be open
to the public.
But the good news for ice hockey fans is that there are
definitely plans for a new NIHL team to play at the new rink. Nothing has been
announced yet about names or personnel but, if the rink building is as far
advanced as it sounds - and knowing how keen hockey nuts always are to get a
game on - my own guess would be that we will have a new NIHL North 2 team in
place for the 2014/15 season.
Photo: Bobby Hall in action for the Blackpool Seagulls
recreational team by Peter Heyworth (Sports Events Live)
