A Cool Comeback - Ice Rink is now open!
The ice rink at Swindon’s Link Leisure Centre is now back open after a temporarily closure to allow a series of plant improvement and energy efficiency works, costing over £300,000, to take place.
The project aimed to safeguard the future of the ice rink by upgrading plant and machinery, leading to reduced energy consumption and improved efficiency. Since 2019 the cost of utility bills for the leisure centre has risen by 100% from £600k per year to £1.2m per year.
The improvement work saw the ice pad lifted, old and inefficient plant replaced and a new state-of-the-art drying cooling system installed to replace the cooling tower which was in need of replacement as it was at the end of its lifecycle age.
The work was scheduled over the summer to minimise disruption as it fell outside the main Ice Hockey Season and it’s a time when club, group and public bookings tend to be at their lowest.
Clive Seabrook, GLL’s General Manager at the Link Leisure Centre said: “We’re delighted to be reopening the ice rink, which is now much more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. We have already seen a reduction in energy consumption.
“We are now looking ahead to launching the new British Ice Skating Learn to Skate programme, designed for skaters or all ages and offering clear progression through eight stages of training. Another innovation for the autumn is the introduction of a new adult power skater class. Further afield, we’ll be supporting figure skater Arabella Sear Watkins, who trains at the rink and is supported by the GLL Sports Foundation, who will be competing in the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix in Istanbul later this month.”
We look forward to welcoming you back to the Ice Rink!