The Wales National Ice Rink opened in Cardiff city centre in 1986

The rink will close next year to make way for a new department store.

A row between the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team and Cardiff Council could delay the building of the multi-million-pound shopping development.

The council said it was committed to ice hockey, but the Devils' owner said a temporary arena was not viable.

Building work on the new shopping centres - known as St David's 2 - is due to start next spring. It will include a John Lewis store on the site of the rink.

"It's all the livelihoods of everyone down here. It would be a shame to see it fall by the wayside" Shannon Hope Director of hockey for the Devils

A new rink is also to be built at the Cardiff International Sports Village, but is not expected to be ready for at least another five years.

If Mr Phillips takes his case to court, work on the site of the rink could be delayed for months.

The club owner said he signed the present lease for the rink after agreeing with the council that a new home would be ready by the time it expired at the end of 2005, and it "reneged" on that promise by offering only a temporary rink.

Devils owner Bob Phillips says he will do whatever it takes

"We have 11 months remaining on our current lease with absolutely nowhere to go at all within the city or in the surrounding areas of our city," he said.

"We signed that lease to facilitate our move to the sports village, not to a temporary shed.

"You can't just re-locate 100 full- and part-time jobs that are currently here."

"This facility is more important than another shopping centre within our city so we are prepared to do whatever it takes."

"We are not saying we don't want to move. We are actively seeking to relocate."

"We have sought three possible sites within the city and one site on the outskirts. All we are seeking to do is talk to the council."

"Rinks around the country will rally with us to protest in anyway that we can to maintain Cardiff at the highest level of ice hockey within Great Britain."

Devils fan Martyn Woodfield from Cardiff said: "What is going to happen to the young people taking part in junior development? They will just end up on the street as the next nearest rink {for ice hockey] is in Swindon."

Livelihoods

Devils' director of hockey Shannon Hope said the club would rather find a solution to the disagreement than have a "war" with the council.

"But we will have to take it all the way," he added. "It's all the livelihoods of everyone down here. It would be a shame to see it fall by the wayside."

Demonstrators will protest outside Cardiff County Hall when councillors meet at 1400 GMT on Wednesday.

Cardiff Council has said it was committed to providing facilities for ice hockey and was "actively progressing the delivery" of a new ice rink at the sports village.

In a statement, councillor Nigel Howells said: "If this permanent facility is not ready by the time the lease expires I can reassure residents that we will provide temporary facilities."

"Arrangements for operation of these permanent or temporary facilities will go out to tender under normal public procurement rules."