An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of rinks in numerous areas of the world.
The word "rink" is a word of Scottish origin meaning "course", used to describe the ice surface used in the sport of curling, but was kept in use once the winter team sport of ice hockey became established.
There are two types of rinks in prevalent use today: natural ice rinks, where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures, and artificial ice rinks (or mechanically frozen), where a coolant produces cold temperatures underneath the water body (on which the game is played), causing the water body to freeze and then stay frozen. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics.
Besides recreational skating, some of its uses include: hockey, sledge hockey ( "Para ice hockey", or "sled hockey"), spongee ( sponge hockey), bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, ringette, broomball (both indoor and outdoor versions), Moscow broomball, speed skating, figure skating, ice stock sport, curling, and crokicurl. However, Moscow broomball is typically played on a tarmac tennis court that has been flooded with water and allowed to freeze. The sports of broomball, curling, ice stock sport, spongee, Moscow broomball, and the game of crokicurl, do not use skates of any kind.
While technically not an rink, ice tracks and trails, such as those used in the sport of speed skating and recreational or pleasure skating are sometimes referred to as "ice rinks".
Etymology Rink, a Scottish word meaning 'course', was used as the name of a place where curling was played. As curling is played on ice, the name has been retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports and uses.
History Great Britain London, England
Early attempts in the construction of artificial ice rinks were first made in the 'rink mania' of 1841–44. The technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, therefore these early rinks used a substitute consisting of a mixture of hog's lard and various salts. An item in the May 8, 1844, issue of Eliakim Littell's Living Age headed "The Glaciarium" reported that, "This establishment, which has been removed to Grafton street East' Tottenham Court Road, was opened on Monday afternoon. The area of artificial ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful and manly pastime of skating".Littell's Living Age, Volume 1, No. 4, p. 201
By 1844, these venues fell out of fashion as customers grew tired of the 'smelly' ice substitute. It wasn't until 30 years later that refrigeration technology developed to the point where natural ice could finally be feasibly used in the rink. The world's first mechanically frozen ice rink was the Glaciarium, opened by John Gamgee, a British veterinarian and inventor, in a tent in a small building just off the Kings Road in Chelsea, London, on January 7, 1876. Gamgee had become fascinated by the refrigeration technology he encountered during a study trip to America to look at Texas fever in cattle. In March of that same year it moved to a permanent venue at 379 Kings Road, where a rink measuring was established.
The rink was based on a concrete surface, with layers of earth, cow hair and timber planks. Atop these were laid oval copper pipes carrying a solution of glycerine with ether, nitrogen peroxide and water. The pipes were covered by water and the solution was pumped through, freezing the water into ice. Gamgee discovered the process while attempting to develop a method to freeze meat for import from Australia and New Zealand, and patented it as early as 1870.
Gamgee operated the rink on a membership-only basis and attempted to attract a wealthy clientele, experienced in open-air skating during winters in the Alps. He installed an orchestra gallery, which could also be used by spectators, and decorated the walls with views of the Swiss Alps.
The rink initially proved a success, and Gamgee opened two further rinks later in the year: at Rusholme in Manchester and the "Floating Glaciarium" at Charing Cross in London, this last significantly larger at . The Southport Glaciarium opened in 1879, using Gamgee's method.
The Fens, England In the marshlands of The Fens, skating was developed early as a pastime during winter where there were plenty of natural ice surfaces. This is the origin of the Fen skating and is said to be the birthplace of bandy. The Great Britain Bandy Association has its home in the area.
Hungary In Austria-Hungary, the first artificial ice skating rink opened in 1870 in The City Park of Budapest, which is still in operation to this day and is considered one of the largest in Europe.
Germany
In Germany, the first skating rink opened in 1882 in Frankfurt during a patent exhibition. It covered and operated for two months; the refrigeration system was designed by Jahre Linde,Linde AG: "75 Jahre Linde", 1954, S. 52 and was probably the first skating rink where ammonia was used as a refrigerant. Ten years later, a larger rink was permanently installed on the same site.
United States Early indoor rinks
Skating quickly became a favorite pastime and craze in several American cities around the mid 1800s spawning a construction period of several rinks.
Two early indoor rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in the United States opened in 1894, the North Avenue Ice Palace in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Ice Palace in New York City.
The St. Nicholas Rink, ( "St. Nicholas Arena"), was an indoor rink in New York City which existed from 1896 until its demolition in the 1980s. It was one of the earliest American indoor rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in North America and gave skaters the opportunity to enjoy an extended skating season. The rink was used for pleasure skating, ice hockey, and ice skating, and was an important rink involved in the development of the sports of hockey and boxing in the United States.
Oldest indoor artificial ice rink in use
Until December 2025, the oldest indoor artificial ice rink still in use in the United States was Boston, Massachusetts's Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena), which was built between 1909 and 1910. The rink is located on the campus of Northeastern University. The rink saw its last game in December 2025, and will be completely removed by April 2026.
This American rink is the original home of the National Hockey League (NHL) Boston Bruins. The Bruins are the only remaining NHL team who are members of the NHL's Original Six with their original home arena still in existence. The Calumet Colosseum in Calumet, Michigan, which was built in 1913, is the oldest indoor ice arena in North America and is considered the oldest purpose-built hockey rink in the United States.
Contemporary
The Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval is an outdoor rink in Roseville, Minnesota, that is large enough to allow skaters to play the sport of bandy. Its perimeter is used as an oval speed skating track. The facility was constructed between June and December 1993. It is the only regulation-sized bandy field in North America and serves as the home of USA Bandy and its national bandy teams. The $3.9 million renovation project planned for the Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval was set to be completed before the opening of the rink's 29th season on November 18, 2022.
The oval measures at 400 meters long and 200 meters wide, which makes it the largest artificial outdoor refrigerated sheet of ice in North America. It is a world-class facility that is primarily used for ice sports such as skating, hockey, speed skating, and bandy. The oval hosts several national and international competitions throughout the year, including the USA Cup in bandy.
Canada
The first building in Canada to be electrified was the Victoria Skating Rink which opened in 1862 in Montreal. The rink was created using natural ice. At the start of the twentieth century, it had been described as "one of the finest covered rinks in the world" and was used during winter for pleasure skating, hockey, and skating sports. In summer months, the building was used for various other events.
The Denman Arena (1911) was the first indoor rink in Canada to use artificial ice. Located in Vancouver, it was the primary site for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association professional hockey league. It was destroyed by fire in 1936. The National Hockey Association (NHA) got its first artificial ice rink arena in 1912 with the opening of the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto. It was demolished in 1989.
Two of the oldest buildings formerly used for indoor rinks are still standing: the Stannus Street Rink (1897) in Windsor, Nova Scotia, and the Aberdeen Pavilion (1898) in Ottawa. The Aberdeen Pavilion is the oldest building still standing that has been used for Stanley Cup games.
Types
Natural ice
Many rinks consist of, or are found on, open bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, canals, and sometimes rivers; these can be used only in the winter in climates where the surface freezes thickly enough to support human weight. Rinks can also be made in cold climates by enclosing a level area of ground, filling it with water, and letting it freeze. Snow may be packed to use as a containment material.
An example of this type of "rink", which is a body of water converted into a skating trail during winter, is the Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Ontario.
Artificial ice
In any climate, an arena ice surface can be installed in a properly built space. This consists of a bed of sand or occasionally a slab of concrete, through (or on top of) which pipes run. The pipes carry a chilled fluid (usually either a salt brine or water with antifreeze, or in the case of smaller rinks, refrigerant) which can lower the temperature of the slab so that water placed atop will freeze. This method is known as 'artificial ice' to differentiate from rinks made by simply freezing water in a cold climate, indoors or outdoors, although both types are of frozen water. A more proper technical term is 'mechanically frozen' ice.
An example of this type of rink is the outdoor rink at Rockefeller Center in New York.
Construction
Modern rinks have a specific procedure for preparing the surface. With the pipes cold, a thin layer of water is sprayed on the sand or concrete to seal and level it (or in the case of concrete, to keep it from being marked). This thin layer is painted white or pale blue for better contrast; markings necessary for hockey or curling are also placed, along with logos or other decorations. Another thin layer of water is sprayed on top of this. The ice is built up to a thickness of .
Synthetic
Synthetic rinks are constructed from a solid polymer material designed for skating using normal metal-bladed skates. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW) are the only materials that offer reasonable skating characteristics, with UHMW synthetic rinks offering the most ice-like skating but also being the most expensive. A typical synthetic rink consists of many panels of thin surface material assembled on top of a sturdy, level and smooth sub-floor (anything from concrete to wood or even dirt or grass) to create a large skating area.
Operation
Periodically after the ice has been used, it is resurfaced using a machine called an ice resurfacer (sometimes colloquially referred to as a Zamboni – referring to a major manufacturer of such machinery). For curling, the surface is 'pebbled' by allowing loose drops of cold water to fall onto the ice and freeze into rounded peaks.