Proposals to build the Republic's first full-size indoor ice rink and provide a home ground for the Irish professional ice hockey team were unveiled in Dundalk, Co Louth last night.
Construction of the €5 million ice rink is expected to begin at the JJB Soccer Dome in Dundalk later this year and will make possible a bid to host the World Championship hockey finals for the first time in 2007.
Pearse O'Hanrahan, a spokesman for Dundalk Retail and Leisure Park, said the "Ice Dome" was a joint venture between the retail park, Irish Ice Rink Leisure Ltd and the Irish Ice Hockey Association, and should be open to the general public by Christmas of this year.
Plans for the project were announced last night by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and local TD Dermot Ahern, in the company of the Irish ice hockey team who have just returned from competing in the World Championships in Reykjavik.
It is hoped the addition of a 35,000sq ft ice rink will generate increased interest in ice hockey and attract a larger audience to international matches.
The ice dome will have the capacity to hold upwards of 700 people for ice hockey matches, in addition to hosting other sports events and providing for leisure and recreational skating.
"This ice dome is going to help the Irish Ice Hockey Association project their own image nationally and internationally at a time when they have just applied to host the grade three world championships and are waiting on an announcement on the venue in the coming weeks," Mr O'Hanrahan said.
He added that it would be a major boost to both the local economy and the northeast in general.