imos Eishalle Im Kleinen Felde

The imos Eishalle Im Kleinen Felde in Herford does not hide its origins. Built in 1980 on a former brickyard site, it began as an outdoor rink sheltered by a tent roof open on three sides. Twenty years later, a hall structure was raised over the ice to close it off, a change that coincided with the arrival of the mechanical refrigeration system which still powers the surface today and, in summer, heats the adjacent outdoor pool. The artificial ice is the constant, but the building has survived more than its share of quiet changes.

Inside, the space remains standing-only, a configuration that limits the crowd to 1,029, though locals remember when the room held four times that number. The drop in capacity came after noise complaints from nearby residents, a practical adjustment that left the arena smaller but quieter. Since 1994, the facility has been operated by Stadtwerke Herford GmbH, and the club that calls it home has changed skin more than once. The current tenants, the Herforder Eishockey Verein (HEV), nicknamed the Ice Dragons Herford, took over in 2004 following the bankruptcy of their predecessors. They play in the Oberliga Nord, and the annual Dragons-Cup tournament has become a fixture in the calendar.

From the boards, the arena looks nothing like a purpose-built cathedral. It is a place where the ice is kept cold regardless of the season, and where the local club continues to play without fanfare.