Ion International Training Center’s founders announced it will be converted into a conference and performing arts center.
The venue opened in 2019 as a skating and ice hockey sports facility. The 100,000-square-foot ice arena currently hosts skating and hockey lessons, conditioning and training, camps, tournaments, and conventions. It also houses two National Hockey League-sized rinks for both recreational and professional athletes, stadium seating, and a full-service gym.
A February 7 news release from the facility stated that, “After months of thoughtful evaluation, we are proud to announce that we have officially submitted a permit request and supplemental documentation to transition Ion Arena into a Performing Arts Center and Convention/Event Center. This is not just a change in designation — it is a commitment to serving Loudoun in a way that has never been done before. … At our core, Ion will remain what it has always been — a place for the community, built for the people who make Loudoun extraordinary.”
The training center was founded by Romanian national figure skating champion Luiz Taifas and his wife, Mitra Setayesh. Setayesh told Loudoun Now that their decision was due in part to changes they’ve seen in youth sports following the COVID-19 pandemic. “Youth sports used to be in the top three on the list of household expenditures, now it’s number 17,” she said.
Setayesh also said her experience with the Loudoun Symphony and Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce helped her form the plan to convert the space to an arts and convention center. “This county has been wanting a performing arts center for the past 20 years,” she said.
The Washington Business Journal reports that the venue will close in May. The arena will reopen in October, and the convention center is set to open in March 2026.
Feature image courtesy Ion International Training Center
