BelPa Buz Pateni Tesisi

About BelPa Buz Pateni Tesisi

BelPa Buz Pateni Tesisi is an indoor ice skating and ice hockey rink in Yukarı Bahçelievler, Çankaya, run by BelPa, a company owned by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality. The municipality built it between 1984 and 1989, and for decades it was known as the Bahçelievler Buz Pisti or the Ankara Ice Skating Palace (Buz Pateni Sarayı). With seating for nearly 1,000, it was described as the largest ice rink in Turkey, and the Turkish Ice Skating Federation calls the municipality's ice skating palace the country's first Olympic ice rink. The rink was run for years by the state sports authorities: first the General Directorate of Sports, then, from 2003, the Ankara Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports. After repeated problems with melting ice and a long closure, it was handed back to the metropolitan municipality on 17 November 2020. A major renovation followed between 2020 and 2024; the rink opened temporarily for 45 days in February 2022, with an extra open-air rink alongside, and reopened fully in late September 2024. Over the years the hall has staged Turkish Ice Hockey Super League matches and junior world championship qualifiers, and in September 2024 it hosted the Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix Ankara, with 127 skaters from 36 countries. BelPa reported Junior Grand Prix training camps here again in 2025. Practical notes: the rink holds public skating sessions as well as lessons and club training, and session times change from period to period, so check before you go. The BelPa Buz Pateni café and restaurant on site is listed by BelPa as open daily from 09:00 to 21:30.