What are the Dimensions of a Hockey Rink

Have you ever wondered, what are the dimensions of a hockey rink? One of the first and most recognizable hockey rinks in North America came about in 1862 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was called the Victoria Rink and was named after Queen Victoria of England. It was a very large building with extremely high ceilings supported by curved wooden trusses that ran the whole length of the building, as in a cathedral. The building itself was 252 feet long and 113 feet wide with tall rounded windows that walled the entire structure in order to give it light. The building was used in the summer months for musical performances, flower shows and, most likely, tractor pulls. When winter came, it was an ice rink.

The ice surface at Victoria Rink was 204 feet by 80 feet. It was the place where the first organized hockey game was held, 1875, and where Fred Stanley, whom the cup is named after, saw his first hockey game in 1889. In 1876, the first indoor hockey rink with artificial refrigeration was built in London, England.

What are the Dimensions of a Hockey Rink?
The size of a regulation rink is very similar to the dimensions of the Victoria Rink. The size of a regulation hockey rink is 200 feet by 85 feet. There are boards that surround the rink with each corner rounded out with a 28 foot radius. The boards have to be at least 40 inches high but can't be beyond 48" high. In the earliest rinks, there was no fencing that surrounded the boards to keep pucks from flying out. Later, chicken wire fencing was attached to the boards to keep the puck in the rink until plexi-glass was developed.

There are lines painted on the ice to represent the different zones of the playing surface. There are three zones, the neutral, attacking and defending zones, each set off by a blue line. Each blue line is 60 feet from the goal lines, which are 13 feet from the end boards.

The center of the neutral zone is divided in half by the center line. This line is painted red with a 12 inch blue dot in the middle, which indicates the center of the hockey rink. Now that you can answe the question "what are the dimensions of a hockey rink?", it's time to play!