Planning and construction

The building had a protracted development, with planning disputes delaying construction between 1982 and 1986. A first iteration of the arena was budgeted at £5 million in December 1982 and originally planned to be built on the site of a car park along Ferensway in the city centre, intended to be a joint venture between the county of Humberside and the city of Kingston upon Hull.^[4][5] However, Conservative Party opposition councillors at Humberside County Council criticised the planned arena as being too costly and unnecessary,^[6] as well as fearing that the Ferensway site could be prone to traffic and parking problems,^[7] and in November 1983, the ruling Labour Party voted in a secret ballot in favour of cancelling this first iteration of the arena.^[8]

A second iteration of the arena, a mixed-use site budgeted at £3.5 million, was announced in January 1985 to be built near Humber Street as part of a regeneration scheme centred on the city's old docklands, with Humberside County Council stepping back from running the arena and instead awarding Kingston upon Hull City Council £1 million in grant funding for its construction.^[9] These plans did not materialise as a result of further Conservative opposition following a change in county council composition in the 1985 elections to no overall control.^[10]

A third iteration, now only an ice rink with a seating capacity of 2,000, was announced in 1986 on the site of the Kingston Clinic on Beverley Road, which was to be constructed at a budget of £2.5 million and operated by Humberside County Council. As a result of this change of plan, Hull City Council was made to return their £1 million grant to the county council.^[11] These plans were abandoned by the county council after lengthy delays emerged and after city councillors criticised the location of the arena as being a "hair-brained cockeyed scheme",^[12] and after plans to build the arena on The Circle cricket ground on Anlaby Road were ruled out,^[13] the city council offered the county council the use of a site near Albert Dock that had been previously selected in 1985.^[14][15] In November 1986, approval was finally granted by Humberside County Council for the construction of the arena at the city council's preferred site, seating 2,000 and budgeted at £2 648,000.^[16]

The building's ceremonial cornerstone was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II during a royal visit to the city on 18 July 1987.^[17][18] It was inaugurated on 14 September 1988 by former Olympic figure skating champion John Curry.^[19]

Refurbishment

The venue closed in March 2020 for renovations worth £1.5 million, which ended up lasting a year and a half.^[20][21] The ice sheet was relaid, while the locker rooms and lavatories were renovated. A new lighting rig consisting of eighty spotlights and a clearer sound system were also installed.^[1]

The building is nonetheless viewed as outdated and in need of replacement. A new ice rink was considered as part of the former redevelopment of the former Co-operative Building on Albion Street,^[21] however plans to incorporate it into the new real estate development were dropped by Hull City Council in favour of an urban park in October 2021.^[22] A 2021 publication pegged the Arena's yearly attendance, which has varied depending on the caliber of resident ice hockey teams, at 147,000.^[20]