Notre Dame Ice Arena

The Notre Dame Ice Arena is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana on the campus of University of Notre Dame. The arena is currently under construction and due to open in October 2011. The ice arena is planned to replace the 2,857-seat Edmund P. Joyce Center.

The new ice arena will be located south of the Joyce Center, just north of Edison Road, and just west of where the new Irish track and field facility is being constructed. The majority of the general public arena seating will be of the chair-back variety. The facility will include two sheets of ice (one of them Olympic-sized), with limited seating availability for the second sheet. The plan also will include offices and locker room and weight and cardio training facilities for the Notre Dame hockey program. Locker rooms also will be available for campus and community use of the facility.

History
In February 2009, The University of Notre Dame announced it will begin construction next year on a new, freestanding, on-campus ice arena designed to meet the needs of both the nationally ranked Irish hockey team and the local community. Construction will begin on March 15, 2010 on the projected 5,000-seat arena and expected to be ready for play in October 2011.

The University originally planned to renovate the current Joyce Center ice facility, but additional studies changed that plan to instead feature a new building. Once the new facility is completed, the ice rink will be removed from the Joyce Center fieldhouse, making that north dome space available for a variety of other events.

Charles W. "Lefty" Smith Jr. Rink
The main ice arena will feautre a 200' x 90' ice rink, the facility will be named the Charles W. "Lefty" Smith Jr. Rink, in honor of the first coach in the program's history.