Building work is set to begin on a state-of-the-art ice rink next door to the Newmarket Road Park & Ride facility, three miles east of Cambridge city centre. The Cambridge Ice Arena was made possible by a donation of over £1 million by a Cambridge alumnus in 1993, with planning permission granted for the Newmarket Road site in 2015. Work is expected to commence on the 1,000-seater stadium this April, construction is expected to be completed by early 2018.

The development will be very welcome news for the Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club, who currently play all of their British University Ice Hockey Association League home fixtures forty miles from central Cambridge at the Planet Ice facility in Peterborough. 

President of the Cambridge University Men’s Ice Hockey Club, Vaclav Beranek told Varsity: “Having an ice rink in Cambridge is going to be a huge improvement for both Hockey teams. All of our players absolutely love the game and that’s why they are willing to make their way to Peterborough and back every week for training and games. An ice rink in Cambridge has been the dream ever since I joined the club, and it finally came true.”

The 99th Men’s Ice Hockey Varsity Match, recognised as the longest-standing rivalry in ice hockey by the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, will take place at 8.30pm on Saturday 4th March at Planet Ice in Peterborough