The Icehouse (also currently known as O'Brien Icehouse due to

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

) is an Australian ice sports and entertainment centre, located in the Docklands precinct of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, in Victoria,

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.National Ice Sports Centre
– Department of Planning and Community Development,

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. Retrieved 2010-04-01

Facilities

During construction of the Icehouse, it was known as the National Ice Sports Centre. Home of the

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, it contains two Olympic-sized

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

s and a specialist winter sports

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

. Rink 1, which features stadium seating and fully glassed boards suitable for ice hockey, is known as the Henke Rink, named in honour of Australian ice sports champion Geoffrey Henke AO. Rink 2, used mostly for public skating, is named the Bradbury Rink, after the Bradbury family – the most well-known member, Steven Bradbury, was a short-track speedskater who won the 1,000m gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and his father John along with brother Warren were both also heavily involved in ice sports. The rink is home to both Victorian-based

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

teams competing in the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level men's ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The AIHL is a Semi-professional ...

, the Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs. The Icehouse has a capacity of 1,500 people and its facilities include a pro shop, The St Moritz Bar, and the Igloo Café. 3 April 2019, the O’Brien Group announced the completion of upgrades to their Melbourne stadium including 1,361 solar panels, two 80,000-litre water tanks, and an environmentally-friendly heating system. The new facilities would generate 400 kW of power, providing a 25% savings on the stadium's power bill. To mark the completion of the new upgrades the stadium was renamed from O’Brien Group Arena to O’Brien Icehouse, invoking and recognising the stadium's original name.

Events

Since opening in February 2010, the Icehouse has played host to many events. As well as hosting all home games of Melbourne Ice and Melbourne Mustangs in the AIHL (Australian Ice Hockey League), it also held the

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2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

AIHL Goodall Cup finals weekends. Both Melbourne AIHL teams have won the Goodall Cup at the Icehouse. In April 2011 the Icehouse hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II. Team Australia won the championship playing against Belgium, Mexico, New Zealand, and Serbia. Other events that have been held here include the 2010 Australian Figure Skating Championships, National Speed Skating Championships, Victorian Figure Skating Championships and an annual Christmas Show. In February 2012 the Henke Rink was transformed from a hockey rink to a world-class short track rink that hosted the 2012 World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships. This saw skaters aged 19 years and under traveling from over 30 countries to compete in the 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, 1500 meters super final, and a team effort in the 3000 meters relay. Three junior world records were broken during this event.

Location

It is located at 105 Pearl River Road, near

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and The District Docklands, both in the Docklands precinct of

, in Victoria,

. The closest public transport to the Icehouse is the Melbourne tram network, operated by

Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was previously the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victo ...

. The Waterfront City tram stop, located on Docklands Drive, is the closest to the venue and is serviced by the number 35 (City Circle), 70 (Wattle Park) and 86 (Bandoora RMIT) trams.

References

External links

O'Brien Group Arena homepageMustangs homepage

Melbourne Ice homepageAustralian Ice Hockey League
{{Ice hockey in Australia Sports venues in Melbourne Indoor arenas in Australia Figure skating venues in Australia Ice hockey venues in Australia Speed skating venues in Australia 2010 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 2010 Sport in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)

Facilities

Events

Location

See also

References

External links