Oxford Ice Rink is a skating facility that is around a 10-minute walk from both the city centre and Oxford’s central railway station.
The facility is home to a number of ice hockey teams, including the Oxford City Stars and the Oxford Rising Stars. It is just one of 41 ice rinks in the UK that are home to competitive ice hockey teams.
Information For Oxford Ice Rink
Oxford Ice Rink Parking
Oxpens Road car park is a public facility next to the ice rink. The car park has 179 spaces and charges start at £3.50 for an hour. You can find further details of rates on the Oxford City Council website.
Oxford City Stars Ice Hockey Team
Oxford City Stars is an ice hockey team playing in the UK’s NIHL 1 South (Britton) division. The team is based at Oxford Ice Rink.
The amateur NIHL 1 league is the third-highest in the UK, behind the EIHL and NIHL National leagues. Eight teams compete in the southern division (see below), and nine teams in the northern division.
NIHL 1 South (Britton) Teams
| Chelmsford Chieftains | Romford Buccaneers |
| Invicta Dynamos | Slough Jets |
| Milton Keynes Thunder | Solent Devils |
| Oxford City Stars | Streatham IHC |
The teams charge for entry to games, generally £5-£10 for a non-concessionary adult and reduced rates for children and OAPs.
NIHL 1 South teams compete for the regular season, playoff and national titles, as well as the Britton Cup. The regular season runs from September to late March, and the season concludes in mid-April with a final between the northern and southern playoff champions.
Oxford Rising Stars Ice Hockey Team
Oxford Rising Stars is an ice hockey team playing in the UK’s NIHL 2 South (Wilkinson) division. The team is based at Oxford Ice Rink.
The amateur NIHL 2 league is the fourth-highest in the UK, behind the EIHL, NIHL National and NIHL 1 leagues. Thirteen teams compete in the southern division (see below), and nine teams compete in the northern division.
NIHL 2 South (Wilkinson) Teams
The teams charge for entry to games, generally £5-£10 for a non-concessionary adult and reduced rates for children and OAPs.
NIHL 2 South teams compete for the regular season title, the playoff title, and the Wilkinson Cup. The regular season runs from September to late March, and the season concludes in early April with a playoff weekend for the semi-final and final games.
How Cold Is Oxford Ice Rink?
If you haven’t been to a hockey game before, you need to know that ice rinks are cold places (not a surprise!). And the closer you are to the ice, the colder you will be. Also, hockey rinks in the UK aren’t heated, so temperatures in the arena drop in line with outside temperatures.
For those with some experience of UK rinks, we would rank Oxford as colder than most.
Oxford Ice Rink Seating
Oxford Ice Rink has seating on both sides of the rink and a capacity of around a thousand. Views are generally reasonable, but you will be close to the ice surface wherever you sit, so wrap up warm.
9 Best Ice Rink Activities To Do At Oxford Ice Rink
Watching an ice hockey game is just one of many things to do at Oxford Ice Rink. There is a wide range of ice rink activities on offer, including:
- Public ice skating sessions
- Ice skating lessons
- Ice hockey lessons
- Join a recreational ice hockey team.
- Join a women’s ice hockey team.
- Ice dancing or figure skating
- Ice skating birthday parties
- Try an ice disco with music, a DJ and disco lights.
- Wheelchair ice skating / disabled ice skating
