UK - The Arena Group extended its capabilities in event overlay this Christmas to supply structures for the Van Hage Garden Centre ice rink in Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, which opened to the public on 16 November.
Building on the success of last year's ice rink infrastructures at prestigious venues including London's Canary Wharf and the National History Museum, Arena was engaged by Van Hage to supply its structures to the site, creating a magical attraction for families over the festive season.
Arena's account director James Thomas worked closely with Rebecca Owen and Van Hage MD Chris Roberts, supplying 11 of its 6m x 6m Milano peak roof feature structures to accommodate the Santa's Grotto, VIP and skate hire areas around the perimeter of the ice rink site. In addition, Arena also laid the 650sqm ice rink substructure, which involved detailed calculations to ensure the structural integrity of the temporary rink, along with two peaked Aluhall structures for the Zamboni hut and entrance tent.
Arena's James Thomas said, "Our team worked closely with project manager Rebecca Owen to ensure we went above and beyond Van Hage's brief in terms of both concept and creation, and developed specially designed sliding doors for each of the Milano Feature and Aluhall structures to accommodate for the volume of visitors.
"Van Hage will also be extending its use of our temporary restaurant structure for continual hire, and we're looking forward to working closely with Rebecca in the future to extend our services for the garden centre market across the UK, helping to create great visitor experiences."
