The council backs a temporary ice rink at the planned sports village

Glamorgan wanted to site the temporary rink in its car park as part of plans to boost Sophia Gardens' capacity.

Cardiff Council decided rink users would have less time to wait if a temporary rink is set up at a planned new sports village in Cardiff Bay.

The decision has been welcomed by opponents of Glamorgan's expansion plans, which are still on the table.

A new ice rink is needed to house the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team, whose city centre rink is being demolished in the summer to make way for a �500m shopping complex.

The council's executive has decided that a temporary rink should be at the sports village to ensure "a continuity of provision".

It has emerged that before Christmas, the council had met representatives of the rink's users, who had backed the idea of a temporary rink at Sophia Gardens.

The council team explained that any rink at Sophia Gardens which gained planning consent would not be ready until January 2007.

Council leader Rodney Berman said once the users heard this, they decided to back the sports village option.

Mr Berman said: "They understood the timescale issues and their response was that the sports village was the most practical."