Fairbanks Ice Skating

Named after Hez Hous­ton Ray, a can-do teacher who came to Fair­banks in 1952. His friends called him an ​“irre­sistible force,” when advo­cat­ing for youth sports, and he was well-known for his unusu­al and con­cert­ed efforts to get any job done. One of his most com­plex — and famous — schemes involved the devel­op­ment of the Big Dip­per Ice Are­na that now resides at the Hez Ray Sports Complex.

Referred to as ​“The Big Dip­per” by locals, this is a mul­ti-pur­pose are­na that is open year-round. The Big Dip­per fea­tures an 85’ x 100’ indoor ice rink with spec­ta­tor seat­ing for 2,200 that offers youth and adult hock­ey, speed skat­ing, recre­ation­al skat­ing, and sheet rentals for pri­vate parties.