London Ice House

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London Ice House

Exterior as the Forest City Velodrome
Former names	Treasure Island Gardens, London Gardens
Location	4380 Wellington Road South, London, ON, N6E 3A2
Owner	London Knights Hockey Club
Capacity	5,000 (approx.)
Surface	190' X 85'
Construction
Broke ground	1960
Opened	1963
Renovated	1994
Closed	2002
Tenants
London Knights (OHL) 1965-2002 London Nationals (WOHL) 1991-2002 London Wildcats (CoHL) 1994-95

The London Ice House was an arena in London, Ontario, Canada. It was originally built in 1963 and was home to the London Knights ice hockey team from 1965 to 2002. The design was influenced by the first level of the Boston Garden, and had a capacity of approximately 5,000. The arena was originally named Treasure Island Gardens as the building was a part of the Treasure Island Plaza mall complex located in south London. For a time, the arena also included a second ice pad.^[1]

In 1994, the London Knights and the building were purchased by new owner Doug Tarry, who renamed building as the London Ice House.^[1] Tarry upgraded the building in 1994, including replacing the seats on the sides and adding more emergency exits to bring the building up to the fire code. In the years following the refurbishment, Tarry allowed the building to deteriorate as part of his lobbying the city for a new arena, given that it was the only arena in the OHL without municipal assistance, and was charged taxes in excess of $125,000 per year by 1999. The London Knights underwent a renaissance after being purchased by Dale and Mark Hunter.

The team left the Gardens/Ice House after the 2001–02 season and relocated to the newly built John Labatt Centre in Downtown London.