Ice rink solutions designed around use, capacity and operating cost

An ice rink should not be selected from square metres alone. A public seasonal rink, a hockey practice arena, a competition venue and a multifunctional event facility may all use real ice, but they place very different demands on the ice system, refrigeration plant, boards, building services, visitor flow and long-term operating budget.

SPORTWAVE starts with the operating model — where the rink will be built, who will use it, how long the season will run, what ice quality is required and how the site will be used when the ice is not operating. Together with AST technology, we then develop the technical concept around the project rather than forcing the project around a standard equipment package.

Start with what the rink must do

Build a new ice rink

For new seasonal, permanent or professional facilities, the first decisions are not the chiller model or pipe spacing. They are the intended use, target capacity, operating period, rink dimensions, spectator requirements, site infrastructure and expected lifecycle. These decisions define the technical system that follows.

Rent an ice rink

For winter seasons, city-centre attractions, shopping centres and temporary events, a turnkey rental project can combine the ice system, refrigeration, boards, accessories, installation, ice build-up and technical support for a defined operating period. Here logistics, fast installation, available electrical power, ground conditions and visitor throughput are often as important as the ice surface itself.

Upgrade an existing rink

An existing facility may not need a completely new ice system. Refrigeration, controls, pumps, boards, dehumidification, resurfacing equipment or energy management can often be modernised separately — but the systems should still be assessed as one interacting whole.

Choose the rink by use — not by area alone

The correct rink size depends on what the facility is expected to achieve. Recreational skating needs enough usable ice area for safe circulation and visitor peaks. Hockey adds sport dimensions, boards, team facilities and ice-quality requirements. Competition arenas add spectators, media, safety and event operations. Multifunctional venues must also consider conversion between ice and non-ice use.

How large should an ice rink be?

There is no single universal rink size. The 2024 IIHF Ice Arena Guide uses a 28 × 58 m ice surface as an example for a small practice arena and 30 × 60 m for a small competition arena. In the same planning example, the practice arena has about 100 standing places, while the small competition arena has about 1,000 seats.

These are planning examples, not the same thing as an official top-level competition requirement. The current IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27 specifies an official rink length of 60 m and a width of 26–30 m, with rounded corners having a radius of 7.0–8.5 m. Compact and custom hockey formats can also be engineered where the project brief allows them, but they should not be presented as the full IIHF competition standard.

Engineering note
The IIHF Ice Arena Guide classifies arenas by function and fixed spectator capacity: small practice arenas 0–300, small competition arenas 300–1,500, large competition arenas 1,500–5,000 and modern multi-purpose arenas above 5,000 fixed seats.

Sources: IIHF Official Ice Arena Guide 2024; IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27.

How many skaters can an ice rink handle?

For recreational skating, the 2026 ASHRAE Handbook gives a useful early-stage planning range of approximately 2.3–2.8 m² of ice per person actually skating. This is not a ticket-sales limit and it does not replace a safety or operational assessment, but it is a practical way to test whether a proposed rink size matches the expected peak load.

For example, a simple 15 × 30 m rectangular ice surface provides 450 m². Using the ASHRAE planning range, that corresponds to roughly 160–195 skaters on the ice at one time. Beginner-heavy sessions may require more space per skater, while the complete visitor facility must also be sized for people waiting, changing skates, entering and leaving the rink.

Engineering note
Skating capacity should be considered separately from daily visitor throughput. A rink can serve many more visitors over a day than it can safely accommodate on the ice at one moment.

Source: ASHRAE Handbook — Refrigeration, Chapter 44: Ice Rinks.

Technology follows the project

SPORTWAVE projects can use AST EPDM ice mats, AST IceBox, AST SkateWay®, AST QuartzPhalt® / IcePhalt® or a traditional concrete ice slab. These are not interchangeable catalogue variants. Each solves a different combination of installation, flexibility, geometry, lifecycle and ground-integration requirements.

A repeat seasonal project may prioritise fast handling, transport and storage. A custom public attraction may require curves, connected skating routes or non-standard geometry. A permanent arena may prioritise building integration, long service life, heat recovery and stable year-round operation. The correct solution is the one that matches the operating model, not simply the lowest initial equipment cost.

Refrigeration capacity must be calculated, not guessed

Rink area is only one part of the refrigeration load. Ice resurfacing, radiant heat from the ceiling or sky, air convection, humidity and condensation, pumps, lighting, ground heat, skaters and local climate all affect the amount of heat that must be removed.

ASHRAE publishes approximate capacity ranges that can be used as a check. For sports arenas, its indicative range is about 2.9–4.2 m²/kW for operation up to seven months and about 2.6–3.7 m²/kW for eight-month to year-round operation. ASHRAE explicitly treats these values as a verification range rather than a substitute for the actual heat-load calculation.

This is why two rinks with the same surface area can require different refrigeration plants. An indoor rink with controlled humidity and a good building envelope is a different engineering problem from an outdoor rink exposed to sun, wind and changing ambient temperature.

Engineering note
ASHRAE example load data show that radiant heat can represent roughly one third or more of the refrigeration load in an indoor rink. Energy performance therefore depends on the building and indoor conditions as well as the refrigeration equipment.

Source: ASHRAE Handbook — Refrigeration, Chapter 44: Ice Rinks.

An efficient ice rink is a system, not an efficient chiller

The IIHF Ice Arena Guide groups refrigeration, heating, dehumidification, ventilation and lighting as the arena’s five basic energy systems. Together they typically account for more than 90% of arena energy use, and they continuously influence one another.

That has an important commercial consequence: refrigeration efficiency cannot be optimised in isolation. Building envelope, indoor temperature, humidity control, pump operation, resurfacing practice, heat recovery and controls can all change the energy required to maintain the same ice surface.

For a permanent arena, the refrigeration plant should also be considered as a potential heating source. Recovered condenser heat can be used for applications such as domestic hot water, space heating, resurfacing water or underfloor frost protection, depending on the system design and required temperature levels.

Ice rink solutions

Mobile & Seasonal Ice Rinks

Flexible real-ice systems for recurring winter seasons, public skating, city centres, shopping centres, hotels and events, with installation and logistics designed around a limited operating period. Explore Mobile Ice Rinks.

Permanent Ice Rinks

Long-term indoor or outdoor facilities where the ice slab, refrigeration, building envelope, humidity control, heat recovery and lifecycle energy strategy must be designed together. Explore Permanent Ice Rinks.

Multifunctional Ice Rinks

Ice systems integrated into buildings that must support different sports, public activities or events during the year, including planned conversion between ice and non-ice operation. Explore Multifunctional Ice Rinks.

Professional & Event Ice Rinks

Competition and event ice for hockey, figure skating, curling and professional productions where dimensions, ice quality, refrigeration performance, boards, glass and event operations must be coordinated precisely. Explore Professional & Event Ice Rinks.

Ice Worlds & SkateWays

Connected skating routes, curves, loops and custom ice layouts developed around architecture, landscape and visitor flow rather than a conventional rectangular rink. Explore Ice Worlds & SkateWays.

Synthetic Ice Rinks

Year-round skating for training, retail, leisure and demonstration applications where refrigerated real ice is not technically or commercially practical. Explore Synthetic Ice Rinks.

Local engineering and long-term responsibility

As the official AST partner for Lithuania and Latvia, SPORTWAVE provides the local engineering and service layer around AST technology. We assess the site, define the technical concept, coordinate refrigeration and rink-system decisions, install and commission the equipment and remain available for diagnostics, maintenance and lifecycle support.

What we need to start

A useful first technical discussion does not require a finished building design. Send us the project location, approximate rink dimensions, indoor or outdoor conditions, intended use, planned operating period, expected visitor or spectator capacity and available electrical infrastructure. From that information we can identify the most suitable technical direction and the calculations required for the next stage.

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