Streatham Redskins head coach Barry Spours is expecting an emotional night on Saturday as the club bid farewell to the Streatham Ice Arena which has been their home for 79 years.

The game against Milton Keynes Thunder will be their last at the venue before the building is torn down and the club move to a temporary home in Brixton.

They are also hosting a special 'End of an Era' game on Sunday evening featuring a host of old faces.

Spours first skated at the Ice Arena in the late 1970s before working his way up through the Redskins’ ranks, so for him it will be particularly hard to say goodbye.

He admitted: “It’s going to be an emotional game and we really want to sign off with a win against Milton Keynes to say goodbye to the place.

“I started skating on the ice rink back in the late 1970s, so for me – personally – I have a lot of memories playing at Streatham after playing all the way through the junior club here and making my first appearance for the Redskins at 16-years-old.

“It will be difficult for me to say goodbye to the place, but you’ve got to move with the times and the new facilities look really exciting.”

The 81-year-old rink may hold many special memories, but the facilities are outdated and the building is run down, which has had a hugely detrimental effect.

And Spours thinks the move will reinvigorate the club.

He said: “It will be nice to play out on a well lit rink with good boards and good ice surface.

“We’ve struggled to keep our heads above water at the old rink, the place has been really run down, and it’s been hard attracting fans.

“It will take time, but hopefully we can develop more young players and encourage more people into the sport.

“We’re optimistic that moving to a new rink will revitalise the team.”

Brixton will be the team’s home for nearly two years, but Spours is already looking forward to 2014 when the club will return to Streatham at a brand new purpose built rink.

“It will be nice to play out on a good ice surface at Brixton. But we’re only there for 23 months and then we move back to a new facility with 1,000 seats and a good size pad, so it is very exciting,” he said.

“It will be a re-birth in many ways. The league we are competing in is becoming increasingly professional and to survive we need bigger sponsors and a bigger gate to remain competitive.”

They will not only have a new venue, though, when the Skins play their first fixture of the new year on January, 7, there will also be a new face as well.

Spours revealed: “We’re expecting Perry Richard’s to return after Christmas. He’s been in America for a few months and that will be a boost for our offence.”

Redskins warmed up for the clash with a 7-3 defeat at English National League Cardiff Devils on Sunday.

Streatham took a surprise 3-1 first period lead through a Liam Rasmussen brace and one from Adam Mahoney, but the hosts were level by the end of the second period, before scoring four in the final period.

But skipper Ed Koral was not too downhearted.

“We always knew it would be a tough game in Cardiff and they are playing well at the minute, he said.

“It is disappointing to lose after being in front, but we need to take the positives and use them against Milton Keynes Thunder.”