An ice hockey team which has to travel 120 miles (193km) to play and train is campaigning for a new ice rink.
Plymouth Phoenix Ice Hockey Club has to travel to Bristol to train because there are no ice rinks in Devon or Cornwall.
The team used to train at the Plymouth Pavilions venue, but the facility closed its rink in December 2022 due to “the energy crisis, rising costs and economic headwinds”.
Plymouth Phoenix manager David Haddock told BBC Your Voice the region needed a rink because driving two and a half hours to Bristol was “absurd”.
Plymouth Phoenix at the Pavilions which closed in 2022 [BBC]
After the closure at Plymouth Pavilions it was hoped a new rink would be built on land near Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park Stadium, but that did not materialise.
Haddock told BBC Radio Devon the plans had “gone silent”, leaving players getting home in the early hours after late‑night ice slots.
Plymouth City Council had been supportive, but funding remained the barrier, he said.
The price of a new rink could range from £4m to £8m, depending on the design.
Winter attractions were always busy and the Eden Project had helped with seasonal ice time, but it was nowhere near enough for local players, kids or figure skaters, he added.
A petition calling for a new rink has reached about 3,000 signatures towards its target of 5,000.
David Haddock said he believes the region needs an ice rink [BBC]
Haddock said many players in Devon and Cornwall had children who wanted to try ice hockey, but there was nowhere to start and it was “upsetting to see the untapped potential”.
“The support for the sport around here is big, but we are not able to cater for it,” he said.
One student had even turned down Plymouth University because they wanted to continue playing, he said.
“Right now, it’s very difficult to blood new players in,” he said.
[BBC]
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