The Viola is born. Ice Arena Wales, home of Elite League champions Cardiff Devils, has been renamed and will have new signs put up inside and outside the rink.

“Changing the name to The Viola is a milestone in the arena’s diversification and facility enhancement,” said Christopher Hamilton, who is chairman of a local company who have agreed a five-year naming rights partnership.

“While remaining the proud home of Cardiff Devils, Viola is excited to be part of a journey that will see it flourish as a top venue for ice sports as well as other events such as boxing, cage fighting, cheerleading competitions and much, much more.

“Viola have established our base in South Wales and we now employ 26 people in our Bridgend office and 75 people in India.

“Being a local company, we are growing our presence in the Welsh capital by naming a landmark Viola Arena. 

“With our future growth, we hope to create employment and outstanding customer service which is based on our money management products.”

Ice Arena Wales will be renamed The Viola Arena from December 1.

It was a busy day at the sports village on Friday with the naming rights partnership announced just before Devils’ new signing Sam Duggan chatted to the media.

British forward Duggan skated with his new team for the first time in the morning and then went for lunch with Mark Louis and new flat-mate Bryce Reddick before his press interviews.

Viola chairman Hamilton and chief executive Ashley Hollington were at the Viola with company staff when the new sponsorship was revealed.

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Todd Kelman, who heads up the management team at newly named Viola, signed contracts with Hamilton which link the company with the Cardiff Bay venue until 2023.

The Viola venue welcomes the public to skate on one of two ice pads for public skating, figure skating, synchronised skating and ice hockey.

The arena also serves as the home venue of the Devils. 

More than 250,000 people visit the Arena each year, while Hamilton and Hollington have an emotional connection with the site where the arena is situated.

Back in 2008, they were both involved in the site planning of Bay Pointe which crucially factored in a site presence for Ice Arena Wales and the nearby swimming pool. 

A decade on, they are back to try and take their legacy in the area to new heights.

This passion is clearly in the blood, as Hamilton’s daughter ice skated professionally in Team Viola when they won the British Synchronised Ice Skating Title and competed at World Championships held in Sweden.

“With our direct involvement with the arena and principles of community presence in South Wales, it’s a perfect time for us to rename the IAW to Viola Arena,” he said. 

“Everybody at Viola is excited to see what memories will be made at the arena for the people of South Wales and beyond.”

Visitors to the Wales will slowly see the branding change to Viola Arena, leading up to an official launch of The Viola (Vee-Oh-La) on December 1.

New signing Duggan will be introduced to Devils fans before their Challenge Cup group match against Guildford Flames at the Viola on Saturday (7pm).

Captain Jake Morissette and his team MUST win against Flames in regulation time to be rated number one seeds in the quarter-finals.

That would give Morissette’s men the right to choose who they play over two legs in the last eight.

If the match against Flames goes to overtime then Belfast, who have already completed their group fixtures, would be top seeds.

Devils have another cup clash at Coventry Blaze on Sunday, but all results against the bottom team in any group are taken away from any calculations.

That means the match against bottom team Blaze at the Sky Dome is meaningless in terms of the seeding positions.

Devils tickets for the 2018/19 season games are on sale now. 

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