News that Basingstoke's ice rink could be sold has led to users feeling “surprised, disappointed and worried”.

It was revealed earlier this week that Standard Securities, who lease the facility from the council, has put the lease up for sale for £2.4 million.

Basingstoke council also threatened to take legal action should Standard Securities or the rink's operator, Planet Ice, not carry out repairs to keep it in a "good and substantial repair".

Home to ice hockey team the Bison and with a 2,000-seater stadium, Planet Ice has been a popular tourist attraction, entertaining thousands since it opened in 1988.

But a public row between its owner Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and current tenants over who is responsible to pay for repairs has seen the lease put up for sale, casting doubt over the future of winter sports in the town.

Standard Securities, which holds a 150-year lease from the council, and operators Planet Ice have been under pressure to pay for urgent repairs after a permafrost build up underneath the rink’s pad.

Reacting to the news, The Gazette’s former sports editor Graham Merry, who has been covering the Bison since 1989, said the council was trying to “wash its hands” of responsibility.

“The puck stops with them. The crux of the matter is the council has washed their hands of the ice rink. Arguably, the rink was in a state of disrepair before Planet Ice took it over in 2000,” he said.

He said putting the ice rink’s lease on the market just weeks before the new ice hockey season was due to start would cause worry to fans and users.

The 58-year-old retired journalist said: “There will be a lot of uncertainty over what happens now with the ice rink. If it is sold to someone else who is also not prepared to do any repairs to it [because of the New River development], then what?”

Mr Merry said it is time for the council to “stand up and be counted” on protecting the future of sport in the town.

He said: “It would be a great shame and very short-sighted of the council to let the ice rink go because you would lose all that history. It’s not just about the Bison - a team that draws crowds of 1,000 most Saturdays - but it’s about the wider community.

“The council is walking away from your community. We can’t afford to lose anymore sports facilities in Basingstoke, once it’s gone it’s gone. The town would be poorer for it. Are they more interested in businesses than their public?”

Meanwhile, chair of the ice rink users' forum, Sally Cashman, said: "I am still processing it. The word I use is flummoxed.

"I don't honestly know what to think, I am a bit lost for words.

"[Standard Securities] are quite entitled to sell it. There are a lot of risks involved.

"What if they don't sell it? What if they do sell it? Who are they going to sell it to? "It is very unsettling."

Meanwhile, there were scores of people who commented on The Gazette's Facebook page, upset by the news.

Lydia Absolom said: "If the rink goes, I will actually be so upset. This is my sport. This is my life

"This is literally so many people's happy place, it can't go."

Meanwhile, Christopher Fernandez-Packham added: "I’d support them not only bailing it out but actually investing in it to attract visitors and trade, especially as venues like this can offset the decline of the high street due to the move of shopping online."

Tan Atkinson said: "Gutted for our young people. My grandson uses this at least twice a week [for] ice hockey training.

"The young people of Basingstoke are being denied opportunities and then we wonder why so many end up going down the wrong paths in life."