Peel clinches deal for TraffordCity ice arena
A three-acre site next to Chill Factore and iFLY is to be redeveloped by ICITIES, providing another boost to the area’s growing leisure offer.
ICITIES’ TraffordCity ice arena – which will be operated by Planet Ice following the signing of a pre-let – will be constructed close to two other major leisure attractions due to come forward over the next couple of years – the £250m Therme wellbeing resort and Tartan Leisure’s inland surf park.
Planet Ice at TraffordCity will be the largest of the operator’s 15 UK venues. It will feature an ice rink that will also convert into a multi-use event space, as well as food and beverage outlets.
A planning application for the arena is currently being put together.
“This marks our first major project and our vision to develop best-in-class sports and leisure stadiums and arenas in the UK,” said Nick Payne, director of ICITIES.
“We already enjoy a strong partnership with Planet Ice, and ice skating will be the cornerstone of many of our projects like this one at TraffordCity.”
Payne, who is also a director at Tritax Symmetry, added: “This arena will be our showcase and we hope to attract other allied sports and entertainment operators to this project. Where we can, we would like to include facilities that educate and entertain children and the wider communities.”
Peel Water’s James Whittaker and ICITIES Nick Payne. Credit: via Peel Waters
The scheme aims to address what Payne describes as a “general lack of first-rate facilities for many event space operators”.
The deal is the latest manifestation of Peel Waters’ attempts to bolster the leisure offer at TraffordCity.
Taking into account existing and pipeline schemes, activities and sports available at the complex include skydiving, surfing, golf, ice skating, rock climbing, padel, and skiing.
James Whittaker, executive director at Peel Waters, added: “Planet Ice will be a huge success in TraffordCity and together with the existing and proposed diverse mix of offerings, we believe TraffordCity will be the UK’s best retail and leisure destination.”
“Alongside boosting the local and visitor economy and attracting investment into the area, we are committed to increasing jobs and opportunities for our local community. Through our long-term vision for TraffordCity, Peel has helped create 17,500 jobs within the destination to date with plans to increase this to 33,000 over the next 20 years.”
Planet Ice’s TraffordCity venue will take some pressure of its Altrincham site, which is often at capacity, according to Heath Rhodes, chief operating officer of Planet Ice.
“The venue will be very complementary to our existing facilities in the North West.
“We plan to provide a large seating capacity at the new venue for on and off ice entertainment. Furthermore, we plan to invest in our Altrincham site, so having this new facility close by will allow our customers full access to ice during any works we do at Oakfield Road.”
The estimated build time of the ice arena and event space will be approximately 12-15 months once the team starts on site.
