THE OWNERS of Ayr Ice Rink have issued a desperate plea to raise £85k in order to save the facility from permanent closure.

Ayrshire Curlers Ltd have confirmed that the rink on Limeklin Road won’t be able to open until October next year with an ice hockey club describing the move as “devastating”.

A campaign called Save Ayr Ice Rink was launched last week in a bid to raise the funds required, with the curlers stating the daily running costs are an eye-watering £950.

Last month, they took the decision to pull the plug and melt all the ice leaving the three other clubs who use the facility left frozen out.

Ayr Advertiser:

Ayrshire Curlers insist they need “figure skating, ice hockey and, crucially, the curling” all functioning just to break even, as they cited impact of the coronavirus pandemic on ice sports in Ayr.

In a statement sent to the Ayr Advertiser, chair Liz Goldie said: “After trading successfully on the same site for 47 years Ayr Ice Rink, like many others, has been badly affected and brought to the brink of closure by COVID- 19 and the ensuing restrictions.

“It costs £950 each and every day of the year to maintain the ice and the whole business.

“With the limited use we have been permitted, our income falls far short of that figure and the Board have therefore, reluctantly, taken the decision that the rink will remain closed.

“ The alternative would have seen the rink closed permanently by Easter.”

But hockey club Ayr Bruins fear that closing the rink till next winter could spell the end of their sport in Ayr.

Vice Chairman Alex Strachan said: “This is going to be devastating to Ayr Bruins, this could cause the end of ice hockey in Ayr. That is how bad it could get.

“It could be the final nail in the coffin for junior hockey in South Ayrshire.

“If we don’t get ice then our kids will give up on the sport,. We would be very lucky to survive this.

“There’s other clubs out there for kids to join. I’m from Newton Mearns but my son would go there because of the history and the set up and the academy.

“We are bringing in more kids to ice hockey than any other club in Scotland at the moment because of our academy.”

Alex says the year has been “heart breaking” for kids who have been stripped of their sport after only just returning to the ice in October before stricter restrictions came into play.

The Save Ayr Ice Rink Campaign will seek to start a fundraising group to secure the funds required.

Further talks are set to go ahead between the clubs on Thursday.