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 Exterior as the Forest City Velodrome | |
 | |
| Former names | Treasure Island Gardens, London Gardens |
|---|---|
| Location | 4380 Wellington Road South, London, ON, N6E 3A2 |
| Owner | London Knights Hockey Club |
| Capacity | 5,000 (approx.) |
| Surface | 190' X 85' |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1960 |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Renovated | 1994 |
| Closed | 2002 |
| Tenants | |
| London Knights (OHL) 1965-2002 London Nationals (WOHL) 1991-2002 London Wildcats (CoHL) 1994-95 | |
TheLondon Ice House was anarena inLondon, Ontario, Canada. It was originally built in 1963 and was home to theLondon Knightsice hockey team from 1965 to 2002. The design was influenced by the first level of theBoston Garden, and had a capacity of approximately 5,000. The arena was originally namedTreasure Island Gardens as the building was a part of the Treasure Island Plaza mall complex located in south London. For a time, the arena also included a second ice pad.[1]
In 1994, theLondon Knights and the building were purchased by new owner Doug Tarry, who renamed building as the London Ice House.[1] Tarry upgraded the building in 1994, including replacing the seats on the sides and adding more emergency exits to bring the building up to thefire code. In the years following the refurbishment, Tarry allowed the building to deteriorate as part of his lobbying the city for a new arena, given that it was the only arena in the OHL without municipal assistance, and was charged taxes in excess of $125,000 per year by 1999. The London Knights underwent a renaissance after being purchased byDale andMark Hunter.
The team left the Gardens/Ice House after the 2001–02 season and relocated to the newly builtJohn Labatt Centre in Downtown London.
The Rolling Stones played at the arena on April 26, 1965, but due to rioting in the audience, the show was shut down by police after only 15 minutes.[2]
Johnny Cash played at the arena (then known as the London gardens) on February 22, 1968, during which time he proposed toJune Carter[3]
After the Ice House's closure it was purchased by investors who turned it into amotocross facility called the London Motoplex; however, the investment group were not making payments during their ownership.[citation needed] The ownership of the building returned to the Hunter brothers afterward. Most of the old seats and all of the hockey memorabilia was sold at auction. The 1994-era seats were purchased by theWindsor Spitfires organization, who installed them at theWindsor Arena.[4]
After 2004, a group of investors (made up of business, community, and government investment) converted the former hockey arena and motocross track into an indoor cycling track, called theForest City Velodrome. The Forest City Velodrome Association (a non-profit organization) operates the races, clinics, and other activities at the track.[5]
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42°55′04″N81°12′26″W / 42.917793°N 81.207214°W /42.917793; -81.207214