Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena

Better known as "Cardinal Country," the 1,924-seat Stafford Ice Arena is part of the Plattsburgh State Field House.

The arena was officially changed to its current namesake in 1987 to honor longtime New York State Senator Ronald. B. Stafford, who retired in 2002 after more than 30 years of public service and support of the College and the North Country.

The facility underwent a $2.1 million construction project in Summer 2008 to install 1,517 theater-style seats and 407 standing-rail positions, move the penalty box and scorer’s table opposite the team benches, improve spectators’ navigation throughout the building, expand the press box, mount two new light-emitting diode (LED) scoreboards and add hard-wired and wireless Internet connections. The previous year, inefficient light bulbs were replaced with halogen-light fixtures and the walls were painted.

The ice surface is 185 feet by 85 feet, surrounded by new professional-height, seamless, pro-tempered glass and boards. The arena also boasts a state-of-the-art sound system.

Both men's and women's ice hockey programs have renovated locker room and fully-equipped athletic training facilities easily accessible from the ice. Some of the amenities include individual padded locker stalls, flat-screen TV, video equipment, stereo-sound system and changing rooms.

Plattsburgh State regularly boasts some of the top attendance figures in NCAA Division III, historically drawing near 2,000 fans per game—more than many NCAA Division I teams. The school record of 4,000 fans (before the renovation) has been reached on 10 occasions.

International exhibition matches against teams from Russia and Sweden have been played in front of sellout crowds at the arena. One of the nation’s finest facilities for NCAA Division III ice hockey, the arena has been the site of eight NCAA Frozen Four events—three men’s and five women’s—and numerous national and conference tournament games.

On the women's side, the Cardinals set a Division III regular-season attendance record on Feb. 8, 2006 with 1,736 in a 4-1 win over two-time defending national champion Middlebury, a record that stood until Jan. 22, 2011. In addition the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament championship game at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena outdrew its male counterpart by 300 people.

The women’s ice hockey team played its first game in the arena on Nov. 9, 2001, defeating Elmira, 2-0. The Cardinals have a 252-20-12 all-time record at home for an eye-popping .887 win percentage.

During the 2019-20 season, the Cardinals led NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey attendance with 7,186 fans for 14 home dates, a 513 average. That average attendance figure would be the eighth-best among NCAA Division I programs (out of 41).

High school and youth hockey games are also played here.