Fife Ice Arena

Fife Ice Arena

Former names	Kirkcaldy Ice Rink
Location	Rosslyn Street, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, KY1 3HS
Coordinates	56°7′57″N 3°8′4″W
Owner	Kirkcaldy Ice Rink Limited
Capacity	Ice Hockey: 3525
Construction
Built	1937
Opened	1938
Architect	Williamson & Hubbard
Tenants
Fife Flyers (Elite Ice Hockey League) Kirkcaldy Junior Ice Hockey Club Kirkcaldy Ice Skating Club Curling Clubs that use FIA Kirkcaldy Curling School
Website
[1]

Fife Ice Arena, originally known as Kirkcaldy Ice Rink, opened in 1938. The Kirkcaldy Ice Rink was designed by architects Williamson & Hubbard. Fife Ice Arena is the home venue of the oldest ice hockey team in the UK, the Fife Flyers. It is also a venue for public skating, figure skating, speed skating, curling and ice shows. The arena has also hosted concerts, boxing, wrestling, motorcycle ice speedway and other events such as dog shows.

The Fife Free Press dated 2 February 1938, announced 30,000 ordinary shares at One Pound (British pre-decimal currency) (£1) each in a proposed new rink in the town. 25,000 shares were offered for subscription. On 17 February, plans to build the rink in the Gallatown were presented to, and approved by, Kirkcaldy Dean of Guild Court. The one-storey building contained seating for 4,500 and would cost £37,000 to construct. To put that figure into context the town's fire station, also opened that year, cost £15,000.

The building was to have a carcass of steel stanchions and a roof span of 145 feet without any supporting pillars except those at the extremities, making it the widest construction of its kind in Scotland at the time.

The rink's ground level would consist of an entrance hall, general office, booking office, confectioners and tobacconist, cloakroom with provision for a large restaurant, and a milk bar. Facilities also included dressing rooms with spray baths, while immediately above the entrance was the boardroom, bandstand and manager's office. The plans also had a touch of class—the restaurant featured Parker-Knoll chairs, curtains designed by Dame Laura Knight, as well as monogrammed cutlery.

Much of the work was carried out by local tradesmen, including plumber James Blyth, while the original sound system came from E. Donaldson of Kirk Wynd. The builder was James Ramsay of Leslie, while joiner D. Mitchell & Sons, also of Leslie, worked on the roof.

Location and transportation

Fife Ice Arena (FIA) is located on Rosslyn Street in the North East area of Kirkcaldy known as Gallatown. FIA is approximately 1 mile from the A92, 2 miles from the railway station and town centre.

• Drive: exit the A92 at the Redhouse roundabout (Kirkcaldy East & Central) and drive South on the A921 approximately 0.5 miles to the next roundabout. Follow the A921 (Town Centre) for a further 0.4 miles. Fife Ice Arena is on the right.
• Bus: FIA is served by the #37 and #39 – Kirkcaldy<>Glenrothes – bus services provided by Stagecoach East Scotland
• Train: Kirkcaldy railway station is served by train services operated by ScotRail one the Fife Circle Line. Kirkcaldy station is also served by London North Eastern Railway providing direct connections from towns and cities including Aberdeen, Dundee, Waverley, Newcastle, York and London.

Rink managers

Date	Name	Notes
	Stuart Robertson
	John Brady
	Ronnie Herd
1993–1994	Bob Korol
1979–1993	Jack Dryburgh
	Tommy Horne	Tommy was the father of Kenny Horne and grandfather of Kyle Horne
1938–	J.C. Rolland

Events

Other than league ice hockey, skating and curling, other notable events have occurred at Fife Ice Arena over the years. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

Date	Event	Notes
14 September 2007	Boxing	Kevin Anderson vs Francis Jones [2]
27 February 2007	Fire	In the early hours of Tuesday 27 February 2007, FIA was badly damaged in a "huge fire." There were, however, no casualties involved, and there are thought to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding the blaze. [3][4] Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
16 February 2007	Boxing	Kirkcaldy local, Kevin Anderson, British & Commonwealth welterweight champion defended his Commonwealth title, only to lose on points against Ali Nuumbembe, who was the first man to defeat the Scot in a professional ring.
11 June 2005	Boxing	Kevin Anderson vs Vladimir Borovski [5] Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
21–27 April 1984	Ice Hockey	European Ice Hockey Championship (Junior) Pool C: Belgium (Junior), Great Britain (Junior), Hungary (Junior) and Spain (Junior). Games were played at Kirkcaldy Ice Rink & Murrayfield Ice Rink in Edinburgh.[6] Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine[7] Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
6–12 December 1982	Curling	European Curling Championships: The men's championship [8] Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine was won by the Scottish team of Mike Hay [9], David Hay[10] Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, David Smith[11] Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Russell Keiller [12] Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, while the ladies championship [13] Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine was won by the Swedish team of Elisabeth Högström[14], Katarina Hultling [15] Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Birgitta Sewik [16], Karin Sjögren [17] Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
10 August 1981	Concert	Thin Lizzy
1966–67	Ice Hockey	BBC Grandstand Trophy Final: Fife Flyers defeated Wembley Lions 3–2
1965–66	Ice Hockey	BBC Grandstand Trophy Final: Paisley Mohawks defeated Fife Flyers 4–1
28 March 1948	Ice Hockey	Fife Flyers 6–5 Royal Canadian Air Force. Fresh from winning the 1948 Olympic Gold medal, the RCAF (Team Canada) played a series of 35 exhibition games around Europe, one against Fife Flyers. Flyers won the game 6–5.[18]
9 December 1947	Ice Hockey	Scotland 2–9 England
1 October 1938	Opening Game	Fife Flyers debut against Dundee Tigers, unfortunately losing the game 1–4.

NHL/International players

A number of players with NHL experience have played for Fife Flyers and other British ice hockey teams. Some of the most noted players that have skated at Fife Ice Arena are:

Name	British Team(s)	NHL/International Team(s)	Notes
Garry Unger[19]	Dundee Rockets	Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings St. Louis Blues Atlanta Flames Los Angeles Kings Edmonton Oilers
Doug Smail[20]	Fife Flyers	Winnipeg Jets Minnesota North Stars Quebec Nordiques Ottawa Senators
Al Sims[21]	Fife Flyers	Boston Bruins Hartford Whalers Los Angeles Kings
Laurie Boschman[22]	Fife Flyers	Toronto Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers Winnipeg Jets New Jersey Devils Ottawa Senators
Glen Sharpley[23]	Dundee Rockets	Minnesota North Stars Chicago Blackhawks
Mike Blaisdell[24]	Durham Wasps Nottingham Panthers Sheffield Steelers	Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs
Jindrich Kokrment [25]	Fife Flyers	Czechoslovakia National Team	World championship and Canada cup gold medalist. Age 30 when he joined Fife Flyers. A centre who played 495 games over 14 seasons in the Czech First National League, scoring 280 goals. He joined the Czech national side in 1973, and won a gold medal at the world championships of 1985, silver in 1982 and bronze in 1981. He also took a gold medal in the Czech side which won the Canada Cup in 1981.
Milan Figala [26]	Fife Flyers Dumfries Border Vikings	Czechoslovakia National Team	A world championship silver medalist. Age 32 when he joined Fife Flyers. A defenceman who has played 450 games in the Czech First National League, and 90 games for the Czech National team. He was a member of the side which won the Czech 1981 national championships, and a key man in the HC Jecenica team which won the Jugoslav title. Figala was a silver medalist with the Czech side in the 1980 world championships. Sadly, Milan died 3 November 2000 after a long illness. Milan founded The Anglo-Czech Ice Hockey School which remains one of the best schools of its kind in the world.
Vincent Lukáč[27]	Fife Flyers Streatham Redskins	Czechoslovakia National Team	The third all time scorer in Czech international history. Age 33 when he joined Fife Flyers. a winger who has played 550 games in the Czech First National League over 14 years, scoring 390 goals. He has been a member of the Czech national side for 12 years, winning gold medals in the world championships of 1977 and 1985 (when they beat the national team of the Soviet Union in their final game), plus silver medals in 1982 and 1983.
Jaroslav Lyčka[28]	Dundee Rockets Lee Valley Lions	Czechoslovakia National Team

Improvements and upgrades

Over the years Fife Ice Arena has undergone many changes, upgrades and improvements to the venue including:

Year	Event	Notes
2011	Plexiglas	Plexiglas installed to accommodate requirements for Elite Ice Hockey League ice hockey
	Boards
	Ice resurfacer	Olympia Ice Refurfacer powered by natural gas replacing the petrol powered Zamboni
	Electronic Scoreboard	The original analogue hockey clock was replaced with an electronic clock and scoreboard. See images in the gallery section.
	Seating	Original wooden seating was replaced with modern plastic seats that came from Ibrox Stadium.
	Roof	Original corrugated asbestos roof replaced
	Arena lighting	Arena lights were upgraded from incandescent lights
	Fife Lounge	Major internal construction encasing the East end stands behind a glass facade to provide a luxury area for spectators and sponsors.
	Refrigeration Plant
1982 (TBC)	Ice resurfacer	A Zamboni replaced the tractor & plough that was used for many years to maintain the ice surface.
	Foyer	Complete reconstruction of the original foyer to create the current glass ticket office
1979 (TBC)	Rink Floor

Gallery

• 
  Original Analogue Hockey Clock
• 
  Current Electronic Clock & Scoreboard
• 
  Kirkcaldy Ice Rink circa 1938
• 
  Kirkcaldy Ice Rink circa 1938 showing the Original Analogue Hockey Clock in the background
• 
  Public Skating at Kirkcaldy Ice Rink circa 1938

References

• The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D [29]
• Smith, Robin; John R. Hume; Alan Lawson (November 2002). The Making of Scotland: A Comprehensive Guide to the Growth of its Cities, Towns, and Villages. Canongate US. ISBN 1-84195-170-6. Page # 740

External links

• Fife Ice Arena Official Site
• Fife Flyers History
• Fife Ice Arena – Gems of Fife