1971 version

The complex's original ice rink was designed by Atelier d'architecture et d'urbanisme de la Bretèque (ATAUB), a multinational firm with offices in metro Rouen.^[2] It was inaugurated on 27 December 1971.^[13] It replaced a temporary facility built nearby for a 1967 trade fair, and kept in operation by popular demand.^[13] The new rink should have opened in late 1970, but burned down in an accidental fire before it was even finished, and had to be rebuilt.^[13]
The venue was at the center of a minor controversy in 1986, when the IIHF selected it to host the B-Pool World Junior Championships despite its 56 × 26 metre playing surface, which is below international standards. The Italian Ice Sports Federation protested the decision—to no avail.^[14]
While it only offered 920 seats,^[11] reports from the building's later years indicate that around 3,000 people could be crammed inside for important games.^[15] Following the Dragons' first national title in 1990, Rouen mayor Jean Lecanuet promised them a new home, to be erected on the same grounds as the original. The team played in Le Havre during the rebuild.^[16]

1992 version

The new ice arena opened on 14 January 1992.^[9] It is a dual ice facility, with the first surface measuring 60 × 30 metre and the second measuring 56 × 26 metre.^[17] The building remained largely the same until 2019,^[8] with the exception of a €2.35 million refresh in 2010, which was limited to the playing area and refrigeration system, and partially mandated by European environmental law.^[18][19]

In 2012, a multipurpose venue called Kindarena was built in the eastern part of Rouen. However, the city wanted to avoid the costs associated with conversions between basketball and hockey, and it was not designed for the latter. Lower ranked basketball team Rouen Métropole SPO was designated as its main tenant, which was the source of some controversy.^[20][21] Instead, the city and the Dragons started negotiations on an extension to the existing ice rink. The process was limited by the proximity of the river Seine, which necessitated the use of a slightly cantilevered design.^[22]

The 700 m² southern extension only allowed a modest seating capacity increase from 2,747 to 3,029,^[10] with extra standing room for a total of 3,279 patrons.^[1] But its main revenue driver was the addition of six executive suites (to the existing eight)^[7] and a corporate lounge. The roof was also redone to accommodate a suspended video scoreboard, which the previous framework could not support.^[8] The extension was accompanied by a remodel of the locker rooms and a general refurbishment of the venue. The project was supported by a broad majority in local political assemblies,^[8] and carried out in 2019–20 at a cost of €9.2 million.^[10]

In May 2021, the ice rink's Olympic surface took the name of former ice dancer and French Ice Sports Federation president Nathalie Péchalat, while the training surface took that of French synchronized skating pioneer Édith Ballester. The move was part of an initiative from the city's new political majority to primarily name or rename public buildings after women in order to improve female representation in the public space.^[1]