By Irvine City News staff

If we were to list the sports and recreational activities in which Irvine leads the region, soccer, cycling, swimming and diving, football, water polo, softball and baseball would certainly make the list. But winter sports probably wouldn't. When one thinks of sports that are prevalent in the city, hockey and ice skating don't leap immediately to mind. That will likely change starting around January 2018, the announced date that a 270,000-square-foot Great Park Ice Complex opens at the Great Park Orange County. The state-of-the-sport Anaheim Ducks ice complex and practice facility will include four sheets of ice, one of which will seat 2,500 spectators. Three sheets will be NHL-size, while the fourth will be Olympic-size. It will be one of the largest ice facilities of its kind in the country. The ice complex will likely become a destination for SoCal high school hockey leagues to host tournaments, and will also be home public recreational skating, competitive and recreational figure skating, curling, broomball and community events. There will also be a part-time training center, concessions, locker rooms and shops selling skating gear. The Irvine Ice Foundation, a nonprofit organization overseeing the rink's construction and management, will own the new Great Park Ice Complex. Ducks' owners Henry and Susan Samueli will make a minimum investment of $35 million to the facility and the foundation. The Anaheim Ducks RINKS Development Program, which includes both ice and inline facilities, began in February 2009 with one ice rink and one inline rink. Over the past six years the program has expanded to include seven local facilities, including one offering inline skating in Irvine. The new ice complex at the Orange County Great Park will complement the 175-acre multi-sports parks, the first phase of which is set to debut next year, creating the premier recreational and competitive sports destination in Southern California. If you can't wait until the new ice complex is open, there are ice skating opportunities right now at OC Chill, the ice rink by the Giant Wheel at Irvine Spectrum. Open through Jan. 16, the rink can be an inspiring place to observe the diverse Irvine community, gliding effortlessly (and sometimes clumsily) across the ice. Private ice skating lessons are available at the Spectrum rink. And check out Inside Irvine for skating and hockey classes through the Irvine Community Services Department. Those classes take place at Anaheim Ice, a pretty amazing ice facility designed by Frank Gehry, in downtown Anaheim. SkateSpectrum.com cityofirvine.org/community-services-department/classes-activities irvineinline.com