Aren'Ice in Cergy, in the Val-d'Oise northwest of Paris, can host company events from a workshop in a meeting room to a gala or product launch for up to 4,500 people. The complex combines two Olympic-size ice rinks, panoramic lounges, modular meeting rooms and a restaurant and lounge area, all under one roof.
Seminars and company events
The official site presents Aren'Ice as a venue built for business events as well as sport. For seminars, cocktail receptions and press conferences, it offers panoramic lounges with a direct view over the ice. The site describes them as bright spaces, and they suit a plenary session followed by a reception without leaving the building.
For smaller formats, the modular meeting rooms are equipped for workshops, training sessions and board meetings. The layout can change from one event to the next, so a morning of breakout groups and an afternoon plenary can sit in the same rooms. The venue states that its equipment is high-tech, but it does not publish a room list with individual capacities, so confirm seating plans and audiovisual details when you send a request.
A restaurant and lounge area on site handles coffee breaks, business lunches and informal moments after a session. Because the complex is also a working sports facility, ask which time slots are free of training and competitions when you pick a date.
Large formats on the ice
The competition rink measures 60 by 30 meters and has 3,000 seats. In show mode the site gives a capacity of up to 4,500. It is presented as suited to galas, large product launches and high-level demonstrations. The second rink, the training rink, is also Olympic size and can serve for initiation sessions, sports challenges and team-building events on the ice with a more intimate feel.
Rooms and capacities
The figures the venue publishes are the two rinks (60 by 30 meters each) and the 3,000 seats of the competition rink, extendable to 4,500 for shows. The panoramic lounges and meeting rooms are described but not given a capacity on the pages we reviewed.
Catering
A restaurant and lounge area operates within the complex. The site does not say whether event catering is exclusive to the in-house team, so ask whether an outside caterer can be used for a large reception.
History and setting
Aren'Ice is the seat and national training center of the French ice hockey federation (FFHG). It is also home to the Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise hockey club and the Club des Sports de Glace de Cergy, and it stages ice shows and other performances. The site is operated under the UCPA name. Holding an event here places it in a recognised hockey venue, which suits sports partners, sponsors and companies looking for an energetic setting.
Getting there
The address is 33 avenue de la Plaine des Sports, in the Zac des Linandes, 95800 Cergy. Cergy-Pontoise is a regional hub in the Val-d'Oise, reachable from Paris by public transport and by road. Check the travel time for your group with the venue when you plan arrival times.
