First images revealed of the new Dublin Arena planned for Cherrywood

A first in Dublin's winter sporting books

The venue, to be called the Prime Arena, is intended as the home of a professional ice hockey team and would also host concerts and a range of other winter sports, as The Journal reported on Tuesday morning.

What the new Dublin arena would include

Designed by American architecture firm Populous, the images show two Olympic-sized ice rinks alongside an 8,000 capacity arena that expands to 10,500 for major events and concerts.

Prime Arena Holdings says the development is projected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors a year.

That capacity is the detail worth dwelling on. Dublin leans on a handful of big rooms for its biggest nights, Croke Park at the very top end.

An additional 10,500 seat venue would give promoters another stop for acts routing European arena tour dates through Ireland.

The42 noted that a planning application has yet to be submitted.

"This is a world-class design for a world-class venue, and it gives people across Ireland a real sense of what we are building in Cherrywood," said Dermot Rigley, CEO of Prime Arena Holdings.

"We’re incredibly proud of what Populous has created, and we can’t wait to welcome people through the doors."

Rigley added that the images “bring this project to life in a way that words never could”.

For now, though, the Prime Arena exists only as renders: with no planning application lodged, there is no timeline for a build, never mind a first puck drop.