Ice Availability

About the ice box

Organized youth hockey came to South Bend, Indiana in 1968 with the opening of the Notre Dame Athletic and Convocation Center.  In 1975, the program grew so large that a second ice rink in South Bend opened on the city’s west side.  It was named the Ice Box.

In 1981, a non profit corporation called South Bend Youth Hockey, Inc. was created for the purpose of operating the Ice Box.  In 1999, with the continued growth of youth, high school, and senior leagues, along with the potential for increased figure skating and public skating usage, the Ice Box added a second rink with accompanying facilities.  This represented a $2.5 million expansion and improvement effort.

Today, the Ice Box is home to seven varsity high school teams, three junior varsity high school teams, 40 senior league teams, and over 40 Irish Youth Hockey teams. We host a number of school enrichment visits each year. The Ice Box, along with Compton Family Ice Arena at the University of Notre Dame, host over 20 tournaments each year.

Our mission is to make ice hockey and figure skating accessible and affordable.