Swindon ice hockey players 'let down' by notice of Link Centre closure

One fan told the Adver that players have had to arrange their personal lives around game bookings after GLL, the company that runs the Link Centre, announced the rink would close in May for 16 weeks for energy efficiency work.

The £300,000 work is due to last until September and whilst most of the ice hockey season is over, smaller clubs face a scramble to rearrange their summer matches and training schedules.

One concerned fan who wished to remain anonymous told the Adver: "Everyone feels let down by the lack of consideration from the centre.

"The renovations are definitely needed, but the lack of notice the managers were given was unacceptable and has caused them a huge amount of stress and extra work.

"The managers have worked their butts off to squeeze all their home game bookings into the month before the rink closes.

"[Players] will just have to make do with reduced training sessions unless they can book in somewhere locally - but this will potentially harm their chances in the league.

"If they had been given due notice, they could have booked their training slots in nearby rinks like Oxford or Bristol."

The Link Centre in West Swindon (Image: Dave Cox)

But Swindon Wildcats manager Steve Nell said: "There's no impact on us, just a little bit for the [recreational] clubs, so we worked with GLL to give them extra ice time and fit their games in.

"Everyone has taken it quite well, we're glad to see the investment and it's positive for the long-term.

"I would rather have the closure and get the work done than not have it and something fail."

The centre's operators GLL said that the venue has seen a sharp rise in its energy costs, which have doubled from £600,000 in 2019 to £1.2m a year now.

A spokesman said: “We apologise to customers for any inconvenience while we undertake these necessary energy efficiency works to The Swindon Link Centre’s ice rink.

“We are giving our customers six weeks’ notice of the temporary closure and have been clear about the reasons for it.

"We needed to ensure the funding was in place before announcing the closure and wanted to complete the works during the summer when the ice rink is relatively quiet  - and ahead of the new season in the autumn."