Uncertain future for Adelaide Ice Arena

Claiming that the venue is “dirty and unhygienic” and citing a lack of co-operation from tenant the SA Ice Sports Federation Inc (SAISF), the owner of the Adelaide Ice Arena has been reported as stating that he may be forced to shut the facility.

Speaking recently to Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser, the Arena’s owner, property developer David Lee, claims that without an external investment of up to $3 million he may be forced to shut the Thebarton facility by early 2020 when the SAISF’s current lease expires.

Lee, who bought the 5679 metre² building two years ago, recently told The Advertiser “I am very upset about the state of the ice arena, nothing has been done for years. There is no TLC.

“A lot of people of my age will have childhood memories. They are reluctant to come here now because they see how dirty and unhygienic it is.”

When contacted by The Advertiser for comment, lawyers for the SAISF denied that the Federation had not acted improperly, and said that “the responsibility for the structural integrity and building works is and remains the sole responsibility of the owner, David Lee”.

Earlier this year, the South Australian Government met an $880,000 repair bill for the Arena’s refrigeration unit which had been forced to close for several weeks in March.

Without external funding, The Advertiser reported that the Lee feels that “the building is running down (and) if I have no other choice, I will have to knock it down,” 

The Arena, formerly known as the Thebarton Ice Arena, attracts up to 100,000 users a year and is used by the Adelaide Adrenaline ice hockey team, as well as casual skaters and broomball players.

Located on the edge of the Adelaide Parklands just 1.6 kilometres from the Adelaide Convention Centre, it might be speculated that Lee’s longterm plan is to have the site rezoned and redeveloped into housing or residential units.

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