DECEMBER 1975, and the future of Bradford’s Silver Blades ice rink hung in the balance again, although Mecca chief Eric Morley had promised skaters that the rink would remain open until the new year. Replying to the rumours of an early close for the rink, he claimed that the rink was losing the Mecca £40,000 a year, and that closure was “a distinct possibility.”

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The rink had been threatened with closure since the council withdrew its £10,000 a year block booking for schoolchildren.

Reports that Bradford Silver Blades ice rink may soon be shut down had brought a batch of angry letters to the Telegraph & Argus, many of them from teenage girls, pictured here taking their case to Bradford’s City Hall.

In 1975 ice skaters were also having major issues with entering the rink. On Saturday afternoons people, mostly children were having to wait at least one-and-a-half hours before they could get in, and still had to pay the same price.

By 1976, the situation was still the same. All hope relied on a cash hand-out from the County Council to replace the previous £15,000 given by Bradford Metro.

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