Blackburn Arena
Blackburn Arena is an Olympic size ice arena in Blackburn, England. It is also the home of Blackburn Hawks and Blackburn Eagles ice hockey clubs. The arena, which was opened in January 1991 by Christopher Dean and Jayne Torville, holds 3,200 people and has an ice pad of 60 by 30 metres (197 by 98 ft). The arena was refurbished in 2005.
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  Blackburn Arena Location in Blackburn town centre | |
| Location | Blackburn, Lancashire, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°44′34″N 2°28′50″W |
| Operator | Planet Ice |
| Type | Ice arena |
| Capacity | 3,200 |
| Field size | 60 × 30 m (197 × 98 ft) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1989 |
| Opened | 1991 |
| Renovated | 2005 |
| Tenants | |
| 1991– 2012– 2007–2012 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The arena was owned by Peel Group, who purchased it from the original owners, Blackburn Council. It was sold on in December 2015, to Silver Blades.[1] In 1990, during construction, planning permission was granted to build an extra 1,000 seats at the back of the arena. It was built to coincide with Manchester's 1996 Summer Olympic bid, with the possibility of boxing contests being held there.
WCW (World Championship Wrestling) held a tour event at the arena in October 1993, as did the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) in March 1994, and on 26 November 1994, rock band Status Quo held the only concert to date there as part of their Thirsty Work World Tour.
At Blackburn Arena, there is a junior development for ice hockey. There are teams for under 10s, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 18s. All these teams go under the name of Blackburn Junior Hawks. The arena is open seven days a week for public ice skating sessions. It also contains a Café, Figure Skating, and Hockey Shop.
The arena was scheduled to host an event promoted by 5 Star Wrestling in April 2018.
References
- "Boost for skating after Blackburn Ice Arena sold to large firm". www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2019.