FORMER SPORTS TEAMS: WIGHTLINK RAIDERS – THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SPORTING CLUB IN ISLE OF WIGHT HISTORY

Ice hockey was the premier sport on the Isle of Wight for 25 years, but it all came to a sad end in 2016. We usually associate the sport of ice hockey with a colder climate, with teams from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and North America dominating. However, at the turn of the 21st century, the Isle of Wight – the sunniest spot in the United Kingdom – was a hotbed of this dynamic sport. Wightlink Raiders – the Isle of Wight ice hockey club – regularly attracted 4-figure crowds to their Ryde Arena stadium. The Raiders achieved sporting success beyond anyone’s wildest expectations, winning the English Division 1 playoffs for 4 years in succession: 1993/94, 1994/95. 1995/96 and 1996/97. The Raiders were also English National League South winners in 2014/15 and won the English Cup for 3 successive years in the 90s. The Raiders secured the services of talented overseas players. The most famous star from abroad was Canadian Dan Sweeney, who signed in the 1992/93 season. Dan went on to become the Island club’s record point scorer, bagging 846 points (including over 409 goals) in 170 games. The Isle of Wight ice hockey team’s best-known English ice hockey star was probably Southampton-born Steve ‘Ganners’ Gannaway, who joined back at the very start in 1991 and went on to play 638 matches. Despite Wightlink Raiders achieving competitive success, attracting overseas stars, and bringing in the crowds, the story of ice hockey on the Island came to an abrupt and premature end in 2016. The history of Isle of Wight ice hockey begins in 1990 when planning permission was granted for Ryde Arena ice rink as part of the seafront redevelopment, costing £5million. The original plans were for a full 60 x 30m ice pad (large enough to compete at the highest level). However, Gaul and Company – who were to run the arena – ran into financial difficulties, and the ice surface was reduced to 44 x 22m. In 1991, Gaul and Company went into receivership, and the local authority Medina Borough Council took over the building. The ice hockey club began in 1991/92 under the moniker Solent Vikings. The following year saw a name change to Wightlink Raiders after the club secured sponsorship from the local ferry company.

With Wightlink Raiders attracting crowds of over 1,000 and appearing in their 1st major final in 1994, plans were underfoot to extend the ice rink to enable entry to higher leagues. A campaign RACE (Ryde Arena Campaign for Extension) was launched, with Council leader Morris Barton receiving a 15,000-signature petition on the issue. Ice hockey fans were told their campaign had been successful and that the rink would be extended. But it wasn’t to be. In 2001, Planet Ice bought Ryde Arena for £600,000 on a 125-year lease. The company were obliged to run the ice rink for 15 years. 13 years later – in 2014 – the lease was sold to AEW UK property fund. In 2015, it was announced that the rink would close due to mounting losses – reported to be £160,000 a year – and the 40 staff would lose their jobs. Worse was to follow. In 2015, Mother Nature dealt the rink and the ice hockey team a cruel blow when a massive storm battered the Island, causing extensive destruction to the roof and flood damage to the bar and cafe. Environmental Health deemed the Arena not safe to open to the general public. On 9th February 2016, it was announced that the condition that the building remain an ice rink for 15 years had lapsed. On 6th October – without any warning – AEW instructed the bailiffs to change the locks and secure possession of the building for non-payment of rent. That month, groundless Wightlink Raiders were forced to withdraw from competitive hockey. For the past 8 years Ryde Arena has sat as an empty shell on the seafront, falling into an ever-greater state of disrepair. The AEW property company have been accused of allowing the building to fall into a dilapidated condition so that it could be replaced by more profitable housing or retail units.

There is little or no prospect of ice hockey returning to the arena. Leaseholders AEW are said to have demanded extortionate rent for use of the building, and an asking price of £3million to purchase the lease. In 2020, plans for a new sports complex at Smallbrook near Ryde – including a full-sized ice rink – were approved by the Secretary of State. However, little has been heard of the plans since the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest idea for the former ice rink on the Esplanade is for it to be transformed into a distillery and visitor centre, with Isle of Wight Distillery – the creators of Mermaid Gin – currently undertaking redevelopment works. Were you part of 1 of the 4-figure crowds that once filled Ryde Arena during Wightlink Raiders’ heyday? Will ice hockey ever return to the Isle of Wight? Let us know in the comments… In the next edition of Former Sports Teams, Island Echo will look at the history of a famous Isle of Wight village football club: St Helens Blue Star.