Several buildings were demolished to make way for the new ice centre; this included an Art Deco warehouse and "The Old Cricket Players" pub, which was initially planned to be spared.

The former Ice Stadium closed in March 2000, and by May 2000 was described as "nearly demolished", with four skip loads of demolition rubble being removed from the site every day.

The centre was officially opened on 1 April 2000 by Olympic Gold Medalist, Jayne Torvill; with the first public skating sessions taking place the same month.

[7] The 2017 triple ISU World Champion, Elise Christie, is a member of the GB Short Track Speed Skating Squad.

Christie broke the 500 m short track speed skating world record on 13 November 2016 in Salt Lake City, United States.

The National Ice Centre is an Industry Green accredited venue,[11] committed to significantly reducing energy consumption.

The facility takes into consideration the energy usage and the behaviour and activities of all staff, contractors and customers that visit the venue.

An ice skating discount was offered on the day to customers who travelled to the venue via environmentally friendly means such as public transport or on foot.