A Canadian beer brand has assembled a custom-built ice rink on the rooftop of a 32-storey building in downtown Toronto.

Molson Canadian – a subsidiary of the Molson Coors Brewing Company – has created the unique venue to celebrate ice hockey; Canada’s national winter sport.

As part of the brand’s longstanding #anythingforhockey media campaign and competition, hockey fans were asked in December to share stories, images and videos over social media demonstrating their obsession for the sport. Four winners will be chosen to play a hair-raising fixture on the rooftop in February.

The project's construction phase began at the end of November 2015, with equipment lifted onto the rooftop by cranes on a neighbouring building, and was completed on 10 January. The finished rink is half the size of an official National Hockey League (NHL) playing space and costs more than CA$100,000 (US$70,000, €65,100, £48,600) per week to maintain.



To prevent stray pucks from flying off the edge of the building and down to the busy streets below, regulation glass panels and netting have been placed around the perimeter of the rink. When not in use, ice is cleared from the rink using a hot water flooding machine and ice scraper, with water drained through newly-installed piping.

Engineers have also built staircase access to the roof, although there is a limit on the number of people who can climb to the top at any one time due to strict weight restrictions.

"Molson Canadian is passionate about hockey and sharing the love for the game with our fans," said the brand’s marketing director Chris Blackburn. "We’re offering unforgettable experiences that will quite literally elevate the game to new heights and we look forward to sharing our winners' experience with the world.”

Ice rink innovation appears to be on the rise. A new centre in South London designed by Michael Aukett Architects has become one of only two in the world to boast a full-sized ice rink above a swimming pool space, while in December, architects NBBJ Design revealed their concept for a series of natural winter ice rinks to be created on London’s River Thames.