Criteria for new arena

[AlphaDog]

Ok, just a bunch of stuff that you think is important for a new rink.

[ItsGameTime]

Must contain ice.

[Joel]

Must contain ice.
big factor there
cant remember what i picked...
i think 4k seats, standing room at the top...not downtown..what was the other..
edit--- DOMED lol was the last one :D

[RioBravo]

I picked two tier, standing at top, 5000 seats(4000 isnt really much more then we have now). Flat roof and in the lower lot.

[AlphaDog]

6,000 seats (4000 in lower bowl, 2000 upper, with ability to close off upper section if attendance drops that way you're not paying for heating, staff, hydro, cleanup, etc.. for it), domed roof, and a terrace standing section (at least a small one) so people can bring in their drums and flags and everything else, without having to worry about being cramped up with it in their seats :) Ever since I saw that one photo of a Euro rink that had a section of terraces down in the corner and what a nuthouse it looked like in that section, I just thought.. we GOTTA have something like that!!

And those rinks with domed roofs just look SO much better. It gives instant character to the architecture.

I also REALLY like the steeper seating layout, instead of stretching back away from the ice. I really like the look of it when the seats are more over top of the rink. Seems like that's how a lot of the Euro rinks are:

http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/ch/baselar/basel14.jpg

Big but still intimate:
http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/de/nurnberg/nurnberg10.jpg
http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/hu/debrece/debre1.jpg

http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/hu/debrece/debr4.jpg (http://www.icehockey.hu/)

I noticed a lot of the Euro rinks have lots of glass in the walls/ceilings - looks great inside! :

http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/de/frankfur/rats5.jpg

terrace section:

http://www.hockeyarenas.net/hockeyarenas/stadien_eu/se/nykop/nykop_i11.jpg

[Thunder Hawk]

I'm happy as long as the seating is steep so that the fans are on top of the action. The new rinks seem to be built too shallow and lose the atmosphere. I think with a limited budget i'd be happy with a traditional lower bowl of 4,500 seats plus standing room on top like at the Jack. It would be neat to have something original in the OHL like a really small terrace-style section for drums & flags like Alpha mentioned. Anything to make it a sold-out loud & chaotic building!

[AlphaDog]

I'm happy as long as the seating is steep so that the fans are on top of the action. The new rinks seem to be built too shallow and lose the atmosphere. I think with a limited budget i'd be happy with a traditional lower bowl of 4,500 seats plus standing room on top like at the Jack. It would be neat to have something original in the OHL like a really small terrace-style section for drums & flags like Alpha mentioned. Anything to make it a sold-out loud & chaotic building!

Yah a terrace section could be the 'chaos section' for opposing teams. And that steep seating arrangement used in a lot of the Euro rinks is just amazing. You walk into places like Brampton and Missy where the seats just stretch back away from the ice and it just kinda puts you off right whe you reach your seat.

Although I wouldn't hold my breath for something like that as I can't recall any north american rink that's set up like that, except for maybe the old Buffalo Aud.

I think architects over here really should look at how they make their rinks in Europe because they just look SOOO much more exciting. Maybe it's because rink builders here, at least with a lot of the newer rinks, look like they went to their local Costco's and bought them all in bulk to save money. It's like they focused 100% on efficiency and 0% on atmosphere/look/feel of the places.

I dunno, I'm not really qualified to talk much about OHL rinks as I haven't been to many, but of the ones I have been to, each one is like I walked into the same rink each time.

[three dog night]

The Terrace section looks neet it would add to the atmosphere sometimes a new building feels cold and sterile and i would like to keep the same atmosphere in the new building like the Jack has.

[Kevy]

I think teams need to get some input from the fans on what they would like to see in a building design...after all, they're the ones who are paying to go to games.
That should start with you guys.
You have some great ideas, and deserve a new rink.

[AlphaDog]

I think teams need to get some input from the fans on what they would like to see in a building design...after all, they're the ones who are paying to go to games.
That should start with you guys.
You have some great ideas, and deserve a new rink.

Hopefully somebody in charge of things reads these forums. If they're going to spend tens of millions on a building they might as well do it right! :D

2 tier, or if just one bowl then at least steep seating, domed roof, a standing room section in lower bowl. A glass section with natural light coming in would be great too.

[Kevy]

It'd just be more reason for me to go to some games

[AlphaDog]

Well judging from the results so far, people seem to prefer the Brampton/Mississauga style rinks (one large bowl, standing room around top, etc..) which is surprising to me. Myself I prefer to levels to keep the crowd on top of the action, but being without any modern arena, I'll go with everyone else's opinion and be happy with it :D Athough I think the standing room would really suck in a 5,000 seat single-bowl arena if it were around the top because they'd be so far back from the action. Standing room is great at the Jack only because the arena is so small that you're still close to the ice.

[Kevy]

I personally don't like them....because they all look the same

Bring back some personality in these rinks

[Kevy]

Something you might find interesting. Taken from:

http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/sport/arena-manual.html

IIHF Arena Manual
Ever thought of building an ice rink?

The rink is the key to all hockey development
In the beginning, ice hockey had its definite limits. It could only be played in places where you had natural ice from December until at the latest March. And those were the long seasons! This is why North America, Scandinavia, the former Soviet Union and a handful of other countries had an early jump in this game. Today, the International Ice Hockey Federation has 63 national member federations. Some of the countries with hockey programs and leagues include the United Arab Emirates, Israel, South Africa, Australia and Singapore. In the United States, there is high level ice hockey played in cities like Los Angeles, Tampa and Dallas. The reason, of course, is rinks with artificialice. Only some ten years ago, ice hockey in some of the places mentioned above was a good joke. Not anymore. Rinks with artificial ice can be built anywhere, even in the desert or south of the equator. The problems associated with building artificial ice rinks could be summarized in these two questions:
1. How do we start ?
2. Isn't it far too expensive ?

In order to show communities all over the planet that an ice rink is not one of the seventh wonders of the world, the IIHF decided to put a group of experts together to create a rink manual. The goal of the manual is to help communities and hockey enthusiasts to build ice rinks in their neighborhoods, at reasonable costs. This manual targets ice hockey clubs with an ambition to build a community rink, the decision makers within communities or municipalities, and construction entrepreneurs. As the President of the International Ice Hockey Federation I am proud to present this manual: "Ever thought of building an ice rink" ? This is the first manual of its kind in regards to ice rinks.

René Fasel
IIHF President



Chapter 1: You can build an ice rink everywhere (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Chapter1.pdf)
1.1 Introduction of the Manual/IIHF Prototype
1.2 Introduction to ice hockey

Chapter 2: Social interest of an ice rink (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Chapter2.pdf)
2.1 Interest of the community
2.2 Activity programs and services
2.3 Ice rinks throughout the world

Chapter 3: Technical guidelines of an ice rink (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Chapter3.pdf)
3.1 General introduction
3.2 Sizing the ice rinks
3.3 IIHF prototype definition
3.4 Materials and structural systems for an ice rink
3.5 Mechanical and electrical plant
3.6 Energy consumption optimisation
3.7 Environmental effects

Chapter 4: Economic profile of the IIHF ice rink prototype (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Chapter4.pdf)
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Construction costs
4.3 Operational budget

Chapter 5: Financing (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Chapter5.pdf)
5.1 Construction costs / Investment costs
5.2 Operational costs

IIHF Rules for Ice Rinks (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/IIHF_Rules_for_ice_rinks.pdf)

Equipment (http://www.iihf.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Sport/Equipment.pdf)

[Passionforhockey]

nice poll
answers are all over the place tho

[AlphaDog]

nice poll
answers are all over the place tho

Not really, judging from the results: people definitely want a domed 5000 seat arena with standing room around the top, and if it IS to be put downtown, they want it in the lower level lot. Although as for a single big bowl or a lower + upper bowl, it's half and half :)

[dogpound]

Not really, judging from the results: people definitely want a domed 5000 seat arena with standing room around the top, and if it IS to be put downtown, they want it in the lower level lot. Although as for a single big bowl or a lower + upper bowl, it's half and half :)
this idea sound sweet

[MadMann]

I personally would like a 4000 seat single bowl. Standing around the top would probably bring total capacity somewhere near 4500. Uncomfortable wooden benches are essential lol. Keep the crowd on edge. Comfort equals boring/quiet. That's one of the major problems at some of these new arenas. Id like to see the jack with another 1000 seats and a larger entrance and main level concourse. That would pretty much be my ideal place to watch an OHL game.

[brendan_435]

I think they should experiment with a standing section, like in that one picture. If it doesn't work out, it's not that hard or expensive to put some seating in instead.

[brendan_435]

Oh, and make sure they have a beer girl dedicated to that section:) that would be key

[Passionforhockey]

location, location, location

[brendan_435]

ice+seats+team+fans
thats about it
and some atmosphere would be nice. They gotta do something with the walls to make it reverberate like hell