News has broken of the potential closure of Whitley Bay Ice Rink in North East England. The rink opened in 1955 and has been home to one of British hockey's most famous teams, the Whitley Warriors, since then. Rumors are circulating that North Tyneside Council are to sell off the land for housing redevelopment much to the anger of local residents and hockey supporters.
Any closure would see an end to hockey in the area for sure and a petition has been set up for all those against it to sign. For those of you reading this Stateside, if the name sounds familiar it is because current Detroit Red Wings and Team Canada coach, Mike Babcock once played there.
During the 1987-88 season, Babcock Iced as a defenseman and scored over 100 points as the team finished runners-up in the Heineken Premier League that season. He only spent one season there, but it was significant in that it was his final season as a player, and first as a coach.
Babcock split his time between playing and acting as assistant coach. In many ways you could say his path to landing the Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold started in Whitley Bay.
For anyone interested in preserving a true piece of Hockey heritage I urge you to sign the petition, and keep the rink and team in operation.
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/north-tyneside-council-save-whitley-bay-ice-rink
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