With the worrying news that Dundee City Council are meeting next week to discuss the future of The Dundee Ice Arena and the possibility of needing to write off £50,000 of debt to keep things going we, the undersigned, would like to show our support for the Arena and oppose the closure of the arena and believe it would be detrimental to the local area and community. The Ice Arena is an important tool in the development of local sport talent and provides local youngsters with the opportunity to improve in their sport whether it be ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, curling etc and removing this facility would deprive people of the chance to excel at something they love. Last year we saw the Olympics become a massive success in the UK and the phrase "inspire a generation" was banded around almost constantly. The youth system in the ice hockey sport alone in Dundee is amongst the best in the country and is arguably inspiring the next generation of skaters from the Dundee and wider area. Having been deprived of an ice rink in Dundee for 14 years previously, this would be a disaster for the city and would set it back considerably in terms of facilities and would certainly not inspire anyone. In these times of Playstations, Xboxes and Facebook, sports facilities are needed more than ever to encourage youngsters to get out of the house and take up a sport. This in turn promotes a healthy life style which can only be a good thing. We ask Dundee City Council to not only keep this excellent facility open but to further develop and promote it to encourage more usage and widen its versatility.