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It would be really odd if a publication like British Ice Hockey advocated for a rink closure. Sobell.
In our version of an ideal world, the Elite League would feature at least six more teams from major cities across the land.
Edinburgh as a foil to Glasgow. Newcastle to reignite the north east. Liverpool to pick fights with Manchester. Brighton, reopening the south coast. Swansea… because why not? And London, obviously.
Why, in the real world, does a sport as exciting as hockey not have a professional club in its metropolitan core? Part of the reason is the city’s relative lack of ice availability. And the situation will only worsen if Islington Council follows through on its desire to replace the historic Sobell Ice Rink… with a soft play area.
In case you missed it, Sobell Leisure Centre was flooded last August, forcing the closure of its ground floor. In May, local politicians announced plans to “upgrade” the leisure centre — in part by ditching its ice sheet with an expanded “active play” zone.
Money, as you might expect, is the justification for the council’s plan — which is subject to an active consultation and counter-petition.
“While it has been a much-loved facility for many residents over the years, the number of visitors is low compared to other facilities at the Sobell, and the proposals that we have put forward will help attract more visitors to the site,” said Councillor Nurullah Turan, the executive member for health and social care in the borough.
“Furthermore, the opening of larger facilities, such as the new double Olympic-sized rink at Lee Valley and the rink at Alexandra Palace, would have led to a further fall in numbers.”
However, loyal rink users — many of whom have skated at Sobell since the 1990s — argue that the sheet would be financially viable if not for mismanagement.
Phil Edwards, a recreational player for the Sobell Sabres and a member of the Save Sobell Campaign Group, recently told British Ice Hockey that Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), the rink’s operator, has failed to realise the potential of the site.
“I don’t think there are any other rinks around the country that have such limited opening hours,” said Edwards. “The was demand there beyond the 4pm to 10pm window – we tried to book more ice time – but just were not interested. It felt like the rink was a hassle for them.
“They just didn’t promote it to the level that they could have done to make more money – which is being done around the country with the likes of Planet Ice expanding. They’re obviously making a lot of money from it, so the opportunity is there for if [the rink is managed] the right way.”
Save the Sobell: ‘They would have looked for ways to close it without the flood’
If the rink is closed, Islington Council will funnel the Sobel Leisure Centre community to Lee Valley — a 50-minute journey across London, per council emails uncovered by a freedom of information request.
Further emails obtained by the Save Sobell Campaign Group cast serious questions over Islington Council’s consultation process.
“I think it [would] be misleading to suggest that there’s more of an open consultation on the principles of the alternative provision,” wrote a communications advisor on 5 May.
In reply, an advisor to the leader of Islington Labour wrote: “Of course, we need to go ahead with the soft play option, but we need to at least make it look like we are listening… If we go out with the current PR [sic], we will face backlash from backbench councillors (and residents), including those locally to Sobell and that will make it extremely difficult for us to go ahead with what we want.”
In other words, senior advisors to leading members of Islington Council have demonstrated a cavalier attitude towards the fate of the rink and are determined to use a catastrophic flood as an opportunity to replace it with a soft play area.
Harry Bishop, also of the Sobel Sabres and the Save Sobell Campaign Group – which is set to protest outside the town hall on 13 July, added: “I am firm believer that even if the water main hadn’t burst, they would have been looking for ways to close the rink because they would come up with the excuse that they’ve lost lots of money.
“But the reason they lost money is because they hadn’t maintained the rink. I came in most weeks, attempting to repair the boards and the gates. They will point out that they spent thousands of pounds on a spinning disco ball that had no baring on how the rink worked. I would say that GLL have hopelessly failed at maintaining the ice rink.”
Islington Council refutes the claim that Sobel Ice Rink was poorly maintained before the flood but has since doubled down on its preference to not restore the sheet.
“The council has made no secret of the fact that it considered the case for not reinstating the ice rink to be an extremely strong one, such that it would take a lot to lead it to now take a different course and reinstate the ice rink,” a spokesperson told the Islington Gazette.
“While the chances of that occurring appear at present to be slim, it is right that the council consults, listens and takes all views into account, before making a final decision.”
British Ice Hockey will never advocate for closing a rink – we would love to see dozens more built.
But there is simply no justification for the way Islington Council has approached this situation and its members should be embarrassed by the internal memos brought to life following a freedom of information request.
With the right support, the Sobell Ice Rink community would grow, continue to positively impact the local area, and produce more players like Toms Rutkis.
Instead, it faces the prospect of premeditated closure.
“You can’t just value [the rink] in financial terms, you have to look at social impacts and the value it brings to the community. It keeps people off the streets and gives them an activity to engage with that is productive,” said Edwards.
“This will be the end of ice hockey for about 80 percent of our group and it could arguably be even worse for the figure skaters because their jobs are at stake. It is also difficult for future generations because it is going to be much harder to run teams for beginners out of other rinks because it is just more expensive.”
British Ice Hockey’s position is clear: Save the Sobell.
