Patinoire de Mériadeck

The Boxers de Bordeaux have been playing here since 1998, taking over from the Dogues de Bordeaux when they folded. They are the main tenants, though Bordeaux Sports de Glace 33 also uses the pads. The ice surface was redone completely in the summer of 2013, and the refrigeration technology is state-of-the-art. Before that, the place was known as the Patinoire Olympique Mériadeck, a name it kept until the management changed hands to the Vega group in 1997, which branded it the Patinoire Axel Vega. It opened in December 1981, built by a consortium of local companies under the direction of the Société bordelaise de réalisations urbaines.

It was not always a home for hockey. Between 1981 and 2017, it was Bordeaux’s main concert venue, hosting acts like U2, Santana, and The Cure. The capacity for those events was much higher, reaching up to 7,212 for standing shows, compared to the 3,312 seats for ice hockey today. When the new Bordeaux Métropole Arena opened in 2017, the concerts moved, and the old ground retreated into sport. It hosted the Ligue Magnus All-Star Game in 2018 and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating – Trophée de France in 1995, 2014, and 2015. The Albatros de Brest also used it as a temporary home for the IIHF European Cup in 1996. The attendance record for a Boxers match is 3,123, set in November 2016 when they beat Étoile Noire de Strasbourg 5–1.