Aren'Ice

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Coordinates: 49°3′24″N 2°5′50″E / 49.05667°N 2.09722°E / 49.05667; 2.09722
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Aren'Ice
Map
Address33 avenue de la Plaine des Sports
LocationCergy, France
Coordinates49°3′24″N 2°5′50″E / 49.05667°N 2.09722°E / 49.05667; 2.09722
OperatorUCPA[2]
Capacity3000 (ice hockey)
Field size60 × 30 metre
Surface13,261 m2[2]
Construction
Broke ground8 June 2015[1]
Opened4 November 2016[2]
Construction cost€ 44 million[3]
ArchitectChabanne et Partenaires[2]
Main contractorsRabot Dutilleul Construction[2]
Tenants
Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise (Ligue Magnus) (2016–present)
France men's national ice hockey team
(2016-present)
France women's national ice hockey team
(2016-present)

Aren'Ice, also known under the working name Centre national du Hockey sur Glace[4] (English: National Ice Hockey Center), is a multi-purpose arena primarily used as an ice rink, located in Cergy, Val-d'Oise, France. It is both the French Ice Hockey Federation's national training center, and the home ice for professional ice hockey team Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise.[5]

History[edit]

Following the separation of French ice hockey from the French Ice Sports Federation in 2006, Luc Tardif, president of the new ice hockey federation, announced his plans for a federal training center based in the Paris Region.[4]

Various sites came under consideration throughout the selection process: Cergy-Pontoise,[6][7] La Courneuve (Parc de Marville),[6][7] Deuil-la-Barre,[6] Drancy,[6][7] Évry,[7] Pays de Limours (Fontenay-lès-Briis),[7] Marne-la-Vallée,[7] Meudon,[6] Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines[6] and Torcy.[6]
Of these, Cergy-Pontoise, Deuil-la-Barre, Meudon and Évry already had an ice rink and ice hockey club. Marne-la-Vallée only had an outdoor recreational ice rink (which has since been closed) as part of Disneyland Paris, and no hockey club. One of the resort's top executives in the 1990s was former hockey player Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, but a longstanding grudge with the French hockey brass of the time had made him unreceptive to promotional partnerships.[8]

At the tender submission deadline, the final candidates were: Cergy-Pontoise, La Courneuve, Drancy, Évry and Pays de Limours, with Cergy-Pontoise emerging as the victor.[9]

The building opened to the public on 4 November 2016,[2] with an official inauguration ceremony on 19 November 2016 in presence of Minister of Sports Patrick Kanner.[10] Coincidentally, Cergy's old municipal ice rink, which dated back to 1974, was decommissioned.[11]

Through its various activities and entertainment offerings, Aren'Ice generated more than 200,000 admissions in its first year of operations.[12]

Building[edit]

Aren'Ice was primarily designed by Chabanne et Partenaires, an architectural firm responsible for several other ice rinks including those in Marseille, Angers and Dunkirk,[13] as well the French Cycling Federation's National Cycling Center in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.[14] Construction cost €44,000,000[3] with the terrain provided by the community of Cergy-Pontoise.[15]

The main hall, named Eclipse, features an olympic-size ice pad surrounded by stands seating 3000 in ice hockey configuration. Seats are heated by vents that maintain a 19°C temperature.[16]
The second hall, named Equinox, is a training and recreational venue featuring a second olympic-size pad and a small stand seating 320.[3]

The building also hosts in excess of 300 m2 of office space.[17] This includes the headquarters of the French Ice Hockey Federation, which moved there from Issy-les-Moulineaux upon completion of the facility.[4]

Although it was billed as "the largest ice rink" in France at its opening,[3][14] this seems to be in reference to the fact that it consists of two Olympic size pads, whereas dual pad facilities built in France up to that point used a 56 × 26 metre or smaller second pad.[14] The Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est is the largest ice rink in terms of spectator capacity at 5,600 in hockey configuration,[18] which excludes ice capable entertainment venues such as Paris' Accor Arena, home of the French Cup final.[19]

Aren'Park[edit]

Aren'Park is a 22,000 m2 commercial district adjacent to Aren'Ice, which opened in September 2018. In addition to a Leclerc hypermarket, it features various stores operated by chains such as Intersport, GiFi and La Vie Claire.[20]
An 84-room hotel, B&B Aren'Park Cergy, opened there in early 2019.[12]

Student-athlete housing[edit]

In 2019, the community of Cergy-Pontoise and the French Ice Hockey Federation announced the building of a student athlete residence specifically geared towards French hockey prospects.[21] Named Résidence Palet and located east of Aren'Ice, it consists of 28 units for 38 young athletes, 5 adults and 2 security staff members.[22] Most residents will study at Lycée Jules Verne.[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Pose de la première pierre de l'Aren'Ice à Cergy-Pontoise". ostadium.com. Frédéric Delrieu. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Aren'Ice à Cergy-Pontoise (95)". groupeduval.fr. Groupe Duval. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Errard, Guillaume (18 November 2016). "Cergy-Pontoise accueille la plus grande patinoire de France". immobilier.lefigaro.fr. Société du Figoro. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Le futur Clairefontaine du hockey à Cergy". leparisien.fr. Groupe Aumaury. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  5. ^ Pacary, Catherine (19 November 2016). "Le hockey français a son palais à Cergy-Pontoise". lemonde.fr. Société éditrice du Monde. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Branchu, Marc (24 June 2007). "AG de la FFHG". HockeyArchives. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Molinié, William (3 June 2009). "Le hockey ne les laisse pas de glace". 20minutes.fr. Groupe SIPA Ouest-France. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. ^ Terrini, Alexandre (May–June 2019). "Pierre-Yves Gerbeau: Interview". Hockey Magazine. No. 143. Villard-de-Lans: Média Loisirs International. p. 4.
  9. ^ "Cergy, capitale du hockey sur glace". leparisien.fr. Groupe Aumaury. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  10. ^ Bernardi, Kévin (21 November 2016). "L'Aren'Ice ouvre ses portes avec l'ambition de promouvoir le hockey-sur-glace". sportetsociete.org. Kévin Bernardi. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  11. ^ Julien, Elie (10 November 2016). "Cergy : après l'émouvante fermeture, quel avenir pour la patinoire ?". leparisien.fr. Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  12. ^ a b Renard-Gourdon, Florence (6 September 2018). "A Cergy, la plaine des Linandes se métamorphose". lesechos.fr. Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisen. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Angers. Voilà à quoi ressemblera la nouvelle patinoire". ouest-france.fr. Groupe SIPA Ouest-France. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Dossier de presse Aren'Ice" (Press release). Lyon: Chabanne Architecte. November 2016.
  15. ^ "Aren'Ice Cergy-Pontoise : ouverture fin 2016" (Press release). Communauté d'agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise. June 2015.
  16. ^ Persidat, Marie (3 November 2016). "L'arène de la glace". leparisien.fr. Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  17. ^ "En images / Dans les coulisses d'Aren'Ice". 13commeune.fr. Communauté d'agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Hockey sur glace : coup de projecteur sur ces Marseillais nouveaux champions de France de Division 1". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. France TV. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Spectacle Paris Accord Hotel Arena". nsworld.fr. NS World. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  20. ^ "L'Aren'Park : les premières enseignes ouvertes au public". contact-entreprises.net. MF Promotion. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  21. ^ Persidat, Marie (31 December 2019). "Val-d'Oise : vers un "Clairefontaine" du hockey sur glace à Cergy". leparisien.fr. Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  22. ^ Barbot, Lamia (10 December 2019). "Un foyer pour hockeyeurs sur la plaine des Linandes". lesechos.fr. Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisen. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  23. ^ Pueyo, Alexandre (22 November 2019). "1ère pierre de la résidence des jeunes hockeyeuses et hockeyeurs à Cergy". alexandre-pueyo.fr. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

External links[edit]

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