Ice hockey teams and ice skaters have joined together with Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust to launch a fundraising appeal to help make improvements to the Palace’s rink.
More than £20,000 has already been pledged to help fund installation of a Plexiglas screen around the rink, that would make ice hockey safer and enable quicker transitions between hockey and skating sessions, enabling people more time on the ice.
Eleven ice hockey teams are among the hundreds of thousands of people who use the ice rink each year. These include Haringey Huskies, who were EIHA Division 2 champions last season, London Yetis and the London Rangers.
James Atkinson, Alexandra Palace development director, said: “The ice rink here at Ally Pally is one of the busiest and most popular anywhere in the country.
"Opportunities for everyone to enjoy it have been understandably reduced during the pandemic but when restrictions have prevented us from running socially distanced sessions, we’ve been busy carrying out essential repairs and maintenance.
"The Plexiglas screen is the next step, enabling us to upgrade the rink and help take ice hockey at the Palace to the next level.
“2020 marked 30 years since the ice rink first opened. It was meant to be a year of celebration, so we hope that this fundraising campaign will be one way of making up for it.
"As a charity the Palace relies on people’s passion and support so that we can keep evolving. A big thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative so far - every pledge counts.”
Lee Mercer, from Haringey Huskies, said: “From the Huskies I want to thank every single one of you for supporting the Palace so far. We all love the Palace in our own way from skating with our kids and family or watching the Christmas show and over the last three seasons the Huskies.
"However, we need to keep moving forward and are asking you to donate towards our future, your future, so we can all enjoy the People’s Palace.”
To pledge your support, visit the dedicated fundraising page at www.spacehive.com/ally-pally-ice-hockey-screen# If the funding target is not met, any donations made will be refunded.
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