Following the separation of French ice hockey from the French Ice Sports Federation in 2006, Luc Tardif, president of the new ice hockey federation, announced his plans for a federal training center based in the Paris Region.[4]
At the tender submission deadline, the final candidates were: Cergy-Pontoise, La Courneuve, Drancy, Évry and Pays de Limours, with Cergy-Pontoise emerging as the victor.[9]
The building opened to the public on 4 November 2016,[2] with an official inauguration ceremony on 19 November 2016 in presence of Minister of SportsPatrick Kanner.[10] Coincidentally, Cergy's old municipal ice rink, which dated back to 1974, was decommissioned.[11]
Through its various activities and entertainment offerings, Aren'Ice generated more than 200,000 admissions in its first year of operations.[12]
The main hall, named Eclipse, features an olympic-size ice pad surrounded by stands seating 3,000 in ice hockey configuration. Seats are heated by vents that maintain a 19°C temperature.[16]
The second hall, named Equinox, is a training and recreational venue featuring a second olympic-size pad and a small stand seating 320.[3]
The building also hosts in excess of 300 m2 of office space.[17] This includes the headquarters of the French Ice Hockey Federation, which moved there from Issy-les-Moulineaux upon completion of the facility.[4]
Although it was billed as "the largest ice rink" in France at its opening,[3][14] this seems to be in reference to the fact that it consists of two Olympic size pads, whereas dual pad facilities built in France up to that point used a 56 × 26 metre or smaller second pad.[14] The Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est is the largest ice rink in terms of spectator capacity at 5,600 in hockey configuration,[18] which excludes ice capable entertainment venues such as Paris' Accor Arena, home of the French Cup final.[19]
Aren'Park
Aren'Park is a 22,000 m2 commercial district adjacent to Aren'Ice, which opened in September 2018. In addition to a Leclerchypermarket, it features various stores operated by chains such as Intersport, GiFi and La Vie Claire.[20] An 84-room hotel, B&B Aren'Park Cergy, opened there in early 2019.[12]
Student-athlete housing
In 2019, the community of Cergy-Pontoise and the French Ice Hockey Federation announced the building of a student athlete residence specifically geared towards French hockey prospects.[21] Named Résidence Palet and located east of Aren'Ice, it consists of 28 units for 38 young athletes, 5 adults and 2 security staff members.[22] Most residents will study at Lycée Jules Verne.[23]
