Ice rinks in Hong Kong
Owing to the territory's subtropical climate, there are no natural winter sports venues in Hong Kong. Several artificial ice rinks have been constructed since the late 20th century, mainly inside shopping centres.
List of ice rinks in Hong Kong[edit]
| Rink Name | Location | Size | Date Opened | Date Closed | Manager(s) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lai Yuen Ice Rink | Lai Chi Kok | 1972 | February 1993[1] | 1987 - 1989
Raul Gomes |
Undergone a major renovation in 1989? | |
| Cityplaza Ice Palace | Cityplaza One | 1982 | 1987 | 1982 - 1987 To Wai Han | ||
| Cityplaza Ice Palace | Cityplaza Two | 20m x 40m | 1987 | 1987 - 2002 Ted Wilson
2002 - now Marlo Gonzalez |
Undergone a major renovation in 2021 | |
| Whampoa Super Ice | Whampoa Garden | 19.3m x 43m | 1990 | 1 October 1997 | 1990 - 1997 To Wai Han | |
| Riviera Ice Chalet | Tsuen Wan | 18m x 30m | 1990 | 31 July 2012[2] | 1990 - 2012 Raul Gomes | |
| Tsuen Wan Plaza Ice Rink | Tsuen Wan | 21m x 43m | March 1991 | ??? | 1991 - ? Henry Chui | |
| Crystal Palace | Tuen Mun | 750m2 | April 1992 | February 1994 | 1992 - 1993 Tommy Wu & Paul Wong | The rink was converted from car park space and have a low ceiling and 2 columns on the ice surface. |
| Aberdeen Marina Club Ice Rink | Aberdeen | 500m2 | 1993 | |||
| Sky Rink Archived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine | Shamshuipo | 18m x 41m | December 1994 | 1994 - 1995 Gavin Clyde & Tommy Wu
1995 - 2007 Stanley Li 2006 - 2017 Tsang Kwok Ming |
The rink location was originally designed for a cinema. | |
| Sun Yuen Long Plaza Ice Rink | Yuen Long | 1996 | 1997 | |||
| Festival Walk Glacier | Kowloon Tong | 23m x 50m | 1998 | 1998 - 2002 Ted Wilson
2002 - 2004? Daven Bow 2004? - now Paul Wong |
||
| The Rink Elements | Tsim Sha Tsui | 20m x 46m | 2007 | |||
| Mega Ice | Kowloon Bay | 26m x 57m | 2007 June | Ella Yim -> Nicole Tang -> Christine ??? | ||
| DB Ice Rink | Discovery Bay | 27m x 59m | 2021 | 2021 - now Raul Gomes | ||
| LOHAS Rink | Tseung Kwan O | 26m x 57m | 2 April 2021 |
History[edit]
1972 - The First Ice Rink[edit]
In a subtropical city like Hong Kong, there is no ice and snow in winter. Ice skating was not available to the locals until the 1st artificial ice rink[3] was built in Lai Chi Kwok Amusement Park or commonly called "Lai Yuen".[4]
Note: A newspaper[5] mentioned that there was an ice rink in a private club as early as 1940. As there is no other supporting that it was an artificial rink, it was included in this record.
1982 - The First Shopping Mall Ice Rink[edit]
Swire Properties opened the first-ever shopping mall ice rink in Cityplaza or commonly known as "Taikoo Shing". Although it was small rink, the ice rink got so popular that the rink was moved from Cityplaza Phase 1 to Cityplaza Phase 2, a much larger ice surface.
1990 to 1991 - Grow from 2 rinks to 5 rinks[edit]
Shopping Malls owner, seeing the successful story of Cityplaza Ice Palace, followed suits. 3 new ice rinks opens in 6 months time:
- Hutchison Group opened Whampoa Super Ice in Whampoa Garden
- New World Development opened Riviera Ice Chalet in Riviera Garden
- Sun Hung Kai Properties opened Tsuen Wan Plaza Ice Rink in Tsuen Wan Plaza
1990 to 1994 Mr. John Wagner - Ice Rink Resources Limited - 3 new rinks[edit]
Mr. John Wagner was the shopping mall manager of Cityplaza. He brought the idea of shopping mall ice rink to Hong Kong. After he retired from Swire Properties, he founded Ice Rink Resources Limited[6] - an ice rink building and management company.
His company not only build and manage Riviera Ice Chalet, but further involved in building/managing 3 more ice rinks in Hong Kong and the 1st ice rink in Macau:
- Sino Group opened Crystal Palace in Tuen Mun Town Plaza (1992). The rink was converted from car park spaces and had a low ceiling and 2 columns on the ice.
- Future Bright Group opened Future Bright Ice Rink in Future Bright Amusement Park (1992)
- Aberdeen Club opened Aberdeen Marina Club Ice Rink in Aberdeen Marina Club (1993)
- ETON Properties opened Sky Rink in Dragon Centre (1994). The rink was built on a site that was originally designed for a cinema, public area was very limited.
Ice Rink Resources Limited's successor Ice Rink Management Asia Limited[7] was formed in 1994 and kept on opening ice rinks around Asia.
1994 to 1997 3 ice rinks closed down[edit]
1994 Closure of Crystal Palace[edit]
1994 Crystal Palace closed down 1 year after Ice Rink Resources Limited, due to payment issues, withdraw from management. The site was changed to a shooting range.
??? Closure of Tsuen Wan Plaza Ice Rink[edit]
Unexpectedly, Tsuen Wan Plaza closed down and the site was rented to Jumpin Gym U.S.A.
1996-1997 Opening and closure of Yuen Long Plaza Ice Rink[edit]
It was said that Sun Hung Kai Properties moved some of the equipment of Tsuen Wan Plaza and opened another rink in Yuen Long Plaza. However, the rink was closed in about 1 year time.
1997 Closure of Whampoa Super Ice[edit]
Though the business is good in Whampoa Super Ice, the landlord did not extend the lease with the rink in 1997. The site was again rented to Jumpin Gym U.S.A.
1997 Asian Financial Crisis[edit]
The 1997 Asian financial crisis put a halt to the growth of ice rinks in Hong Kong. For nearly 10 years, no new ice rink was built. No new ice rink was built around Asia for at least 5 years.
1998 Festival Walk Glacier became the largest ice rink in Hong Kong[edit]
Ted Wilson, manager of Cityplaza Ice Palace, first proposed to Swire Properties for a second ice rink in 1992. After more than 6 years of planning, Swire Properties finally opened its second ice rink, Festival Walk Glacier, in Kowloon Tong. Festival Walk Glacier became the largest ice rink in Hong Kong.
The project was delayed due to unexpected construction complications.[8]
2007-2008 Ice Hockey and the First Standard Size Ice Rink[edit]
Two new ice rinks, both promoting ice hockey, opened. One of them is the first standard-size ice rink in Hong Kong:
- Chickeeduck's owner Hubert Chow, formed The Rink[9] and opened The Rink Elements
- Kerry Properties opened Mega Ice in MegaBox - the first standard size ice rink in Hong Kong
2021 Openings of 2 More Standard Size Ice Rinks[edit]
- Hong Kong Resort Company Limited opened DB Ice Rink in Discovery Bay
- LOHAS Rink in The LOHAS
LOHAS Rink 2021
References[edit]
- ^ "Wizards on ice rush for gold". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ "探射燈：荃灣「少林寺」結業 雪上加霜 - 東方日報". orientaldaily.on.cc. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- ^ "荃話題-荔園". www.lizawang.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "關於我們 | 荔園有限公司". 荔園 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ 余震宇-掌故舊聞. "麗池夜總會小史 | 余震宇-掌故舊聞". ET Net. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ "ICE RINK RESOURCES LIMITED - 香港公司註冊查詢". www.hongkongcompanylookup.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "ICE RINK MANAGEMENT ASIA LIMITED注冊編號0488324公司當前已告解散". hongkongcompanysearch.com. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ "Festive Walk – Const-Infobank.org". Retrieved 2021-12-31.
- ^ 馬健彰 (2018-05-15). "圓方搞溜冰場 Chickeeduck創辦人三招「破冰」 年吸3000萬". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2021-12-31.