“Edmonton`s Quest for Status Through Arenas”

“Edmonton's Quest for Status Through Arenas”
By
Alan Stoyles
An Essay submitted to meet the requirements of HIST 470
in the Department of History & Classics
University of Alberta
(Winter 2010)
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Recently in Edmonton, there has been discussion about the building of a new
arena to replace the current home of the Oilers, Rexall Place. The Oilers would be the
most important tenant of a newly built world class arena. There are many arguments for
why a new arena would be a wise investment for both private and public sectors of the
city. This discussion is not something new to the city, and without looking at the history
of the rinks in the city, it’s difficult to make a reasonable argument as to the alleged
advantages, culturally as well as financially that a new arena would bring to the city.
Edmonton arenas have long been associated with the representation of the status of the
city itself, especially with comparison to rival cities. The arenas play a role of showing
that Edmonton is a world class city, as well as provides a venue for noteworthy events in
the city. Due to the importance of arenas there is much discussion when each new arena
is suggested or built, and since the first arena was built more than a century ago, these
arguments have not really changed.
I will focus only on the major arenas throughout the history of Edmonton and the
formally independent Strathcona, what could be considered "The" City rink at the
respective times of their existence. As such community rinks will not be taken into
account. Generally the rinks that I will discuss are where the marquee matches of the
time would have or took place; since the founding of the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers those
rinks will be the ones in which that team resided. Though the Commonwealth Stadium,
home of the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL was built for a world-class event, I will not
be looking at it the context of this paper. The reason for not dealing with the
Commonwealth Stadium is that it does not have the issues surrounding it, nor its
predecessors or likely successors. Edmonton is a Hockey city, and therefore the
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Commonwealth Stadium, which is not associated with hockey games or events, is less
important to the city’s identity.
Edmonton’s first main city rink was called the Thistle Rink. The Thistle rink was
opened in December of 1902, just north of Jasper Avenue on what is now 102 Avenue
and 102 Street. The rink was a combination of a skating surface that was also used as a
roller rink when there was no ice; there was also a curling rink. The rink was used for
many things other than its sports uses. It was used for concerts, community meetings,
exhibitions, concerts, parties and receptions. The first legislators of Alberta met on the
arena. The Arena was also used to store the 101st Fusiliers Armory equipment, among
other things. (Edmonton Journal, November 4th/5th ,1963). As one of the first covered
facilities, it gave Edmonton a claim to being a city comparable to those in the east, as
well as a leading city in the west. Calgary and Strathcona would not get their first rinks
for a few years, bringing Edmonton in line with Eastern Canadian cities such as Montreal
and Toronto, which were seen as being superior on the world stage. This idea can be
seen repeatedly throughout the evolution of Edmonton rinks, as comparisons are always
drawn to these cities; It is said that even in the east there is not “Such a handsome
pavilion as can be seen on the Exhibition grounds of Alberta’s Queen City”(Edmonton
Journal, November 15th, 1913). The possession of an enclosed rink was also seen as an
advantage by competitors, which urged their cities to participate in the building of rinks,
including Strathcona (Strathcona Plaindealer, Spring 1989). The Thistle Rink was only in
existence a short time, a few months short of eleven years, before it burnt down in 1913.
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Thistle Rink (Edmonton Journal, January 9th 1954)
Strathcona was one city that used the perceived advantage of an enclosed rink as
part of the reason behind their decision to build their own. Strathcona is now a part of
Edmonton and this is the only rink that will be talked about that is from the specific city,
since it will soon be replaced by the Edmonton Gardens. Strathcona and Edmonton had a
major hockey rivalry before either city decided to build an enclosed rink. Before the
rinks were built, the games took place on the frozen river ice. As with everywhere that
lacked arenas, games were played outdoors where teams had to deal with not only their
opponents on the ice, but also the lower quality of ice, falling snow, blowing wind, and
the bitter cold. Despite the games being played in the possibly brutal conditions of the
Canadian outdoors, they were quite popular. Often many citizens from the each city
would travel with the team on a specially arranged train to cheer on their home town
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team. Upon completion and opening of the Thistle Rink, the Strathcona team viewed this
as an advantage for their northern sports rivals, as the Edmonton team still played on an
open rink. The rivalry was quite fierce between the Edmonton and South
Edmonton/Strathcona teams. In his paper “The Puck Eaters” Terence O’Riordan talks
about just how important of an event the regular games over the Christmas season were.
The games were always covered in the newspapers of the time, and there are accounts of
the fans becoming quite excited during the games. You could say that not a whole lot has
changed, as even now fans get quite excited when the home town Oilers take on a rival
club such as the Calgary Flames. Strathcona started construction in 1904, on what is now
8325- 102th street, their indoor rink that was completed in 1905. Though it went through
several names during its time, I will refer to it as its name during its construction and
what it is generally referred to by newspapers of the time, the South Side Covered Rink.
The rivalry between Edmonton and Strathcona is one that goes back to the
founding of the cities. Edmonton was the first of the two communities. It was originally
founded as a trading post was north of the North Saskatchewan River. When the railway
came across Canada South Edmonton/Strathcona was founded, as it was a cheaper
alternative than building the railway across the river. With the two towns separated only
by the river its understandable that a rivalry in sports would form. The river may have
kept the railway from crossing into Edmonton but the people still made there way across
the river when they needed two, either by boats, or walking on the ice in winter. When
the University was founded on the south side of the river in 1909 many students would
have to cross the river on a regular basis. The cities were eventually connected via a train
bridge across the river. In 1912 Strathcona became part of the city of Edmonton, but the
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old sports rivalries remained between the north and south.
It was original named for the South Side Covered Rink was the Strathcona
Skating Rink from its opening till 1914, when the Strathcona Roller Rink became part of
its name. The Strathcona Roller Rink was an indication of the roller skating surface that
was in use during summer. Due to the integration of Strathcona into Edmonton and the
popularity of roller skating, the rink was known as the South Side Roller Rink from 1917,
till 1933 when it was once again renamed, this time to the Scona Rink—a name that
would stay until it got its final rename in 1941 to Zurch’s Covered Rink, a name that
would last only a single year until the building was closed on May 10th of that year, so it
could be demolished and the land used for new building projects.(Strathcona Plaindealer,
Spring 1989).
South Side Covered Rink 1910 (City of Edmonton Archives)
The South Side Coved Rink had a colourful history but its status as a main city
rink was short lived. With Strathcona becoming part of Edmonton in 1912, the city had
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both the Thistle Rink and South Side Covered Rink in its limits. At that time which rink
should be considered the city’s main rink is debatable, as they were basically equal in all
ways. This problem is elevated a short time latter with the opening of the
Edmonton Gardens in December of 1913; the new rink became the foremost rink in
Edmonton and will maintain that position until Northlands Coliseum opened. The
Gardens however was never meant to be a skating rink when it was built, but the
conversion became necessary after the destruction of the Thistle Rink. On the early
morning October 31st 1913 the Thistle Rink burnt to the ground; accounts indicate that
only fifteen minutes elapsed from the discovery of the fire until the roof of the building
collapsed (Edmonton Bulletin, October 31st, 1913). The speed at which the building burnt
is likely due in large part to its entirely wooden construction. Now without one of its
major indoor sporting facilities the city required a replacement. The apparent need and
urgency to replace the Thistle Rink was an indication of several things. An indoor rink
was a necessity for the city rather than the luxury that it had been at its opening almost
eleven years earlier. After the years the city had become use to having its hockey games
inside, as well as all of the other events which took place in the old Thistle Rink. It also
indicates that the South Side Covered Rink was not a facility that could step up to
become the city’s main and only major ice surface, due possibly to its own inadequacies
as a facility, or the high level of demand for ice in the city, or that it was not in the part of
the city that Thistle Rink had provided facilities too. It is with the burning down of the
Thistle Rink that the longest serving main city rink in Edmonton, Edmonton Gardens,
owes half of its origins, the other half has nothing to do with ice at all.
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Edmonton Gardens Approximately 1919 (City of Edmonton Archives)
The Edmonton Stock Pavilion was built with no plans for a skating surface. The
building was built as a stock pavilion, a role it would serve when it was not being used
for skating. Being used for a Stock Pavilion, it was built away from the populated down
town area, so that the noise and smell from the animals would not bother residents.
When the Thistle Rink burned down in 1913 the decision to place an improvised
ice surface in the Stock Pavilion was made. And on its opening in December of 1913, the
arena was ready for use, claiming to be the foremost arena in the West if not all of North
America. The building was regularly referred to as ‘The Cow Barn’ due to its appearance
and what it was used for during the summer months. The Edmonton Stock Pavilion was
renamed the Edmonton Gardens in 1949 after one of its numerous renovations.
Operators felt that after a three hundred twenty-five thousand dollar renovation, the arena
needed a new, better fitting name. A contest was held and the Edmonton Gardens name
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was chosen (1949 Letters between Northlands and Contest Winner). The 1949 renovation
was far from the only one for the Gardens. The original plans indeed were not for an ice
surface that was added to the plans long after construction began. As early as the 1930s,
calls for a new downtown arena were being made, though they never materialized. These
calls began when it was decided to start looking at bringing artificial ice to Edmonton.
While long in possession of enclosed arenas, this was the next step in order to keep up
with the rest of the world. Some suggested that if the money to outfit any arena with
artificial ice was going to be spent it should be placed in a more central location
(Edmonton Journal, January 22nd ,1934). One of the reasons for the downtown rink never
being built was the continuous renovations that were made to the Gardens. In the late
1930s the arena began using artificial ice, making the arena available for use many more
months of the year. In the 1960s the Gardens received several major renovations, to
address various issues in the aging facility. Though there were many complaints about
the appearance of the building and difficulty seeing the ice, the largest concern was that
the building was considered a fire hazard, and there was much fear that it, like old Thistle
Rink, would burn down one night.
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Edmonton Gardens 1960s (City of Edmonton Archives)
The Edmonton Gardens eventually fell out of favor as people expected more. The
Gardens, branded a fire hazard, was considered uncomfortable, dirty and ugly by the
1960s and had fallen far from its status of a World Class Facility (Edmonton Journal,
April 19th ,1966). When it became apparent that the gardens could no longer function as a
facility in its current condition there were two options: 1) build a new rink, or 2) do a
major renovation. Both were extremely costly propositions. Many new locations were
suggested for a new rink including downtown, next to Grant MacEwan College, as well
as building a new arena on the Exhibition Grounds near where the Gardens already stood.
The city fire marshal decided to order the Gardens closed as a fire hazard in 1966, which
prompted a complete overhaul of the building instead of replacement. However, at this
juncture it became apparent that the Gardens did not have a long life ahead of it. Before
the arena was ready to die, it had a little more history to make, as it was the first rink of
the Edmonton/Alberta Oilers. It was ultimately closed in 1974 in favor of the newly
constructed Northlands Coliseum across the street. The Gardens, condemned at one point
as a fire hazard, was not so fragile after all, possibly do to the major 1966 renovation, but
several attempts to level the building with explosives failed, and ultimately a wrecking
ball had to be used to bring this historic building down in 1982, almost seventy years
after its opening. (Edmonton Journal, January 21st ,1982) (Alberta Magazine May/June
1982).
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Edmonton Gardens and Northlands Coliseum (City of Edmonton Archives)
The Northlands Coliseum was opened to be a new world class facility for the city
of Edmonton, and has been the home of the Oilers since it opened (Edmonton Journal,
January 4th, 1996). It was originally called Northlands Coliseum, but has also been called
Edmonton Coliseum and Skyreach Center. In 2003 it was renamed Rexall Place as Rexall
Pharmacy entered into a long term naming deal with the operator of the arena
(oilers.nhl.com). The Rexall company’s owner, Daryl Katz is also the owner of the
Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Oil Kings, both of which play their homes games at the
Coliseum. It has had several renovations during its years that have deferred the building
of a new arena, much in the same style as was seen with the old Edmonton Gardens. The
Coliseum, however, was built in a much different social and economical climate than the
Thistle Rink, South Side Covered Rink, or the Edmonton Gardens. Earlier projects
required a much smaller financial commitment than the 18 million dollar project of the
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Northlands Coliseum (Edmonton Examiner, November 6th ,1992). The scale of the
building project meant that this was to be a project that needed support and funding from
local citizens as well as governments at the city and possibly provincial level. This need
for support meant that more than just having a world class arena may be needed to rally
the different groups into undertaking the massive project.
The argued benefits for the city to build a new rink were vast. The largest
advantage is that it would renew an area of the city long run down, by encouraging new
buildings around the Coliseum. Hotels are listed as the most likely associated business
that would be created.(Edmonton Journal, September 25th ,1963) Also bringing revenue
into area would help already established businesses. Supporters of the Coliseum also
argued that increased tourism, and more prestige’s conventions and shows would bring
even greater revenue into Edmonton, benefits all Edmonton tax payers (Edmonton
Journal, September 24th ,1963). The building of coliseums in several American cities is
continually refereed to as a source for just how the cities benefited from the buildings.
However this revitalization that was supposedly to take place around the
Coliseum did not actually happen when the Northlands Coliseum was finally built. A
look at the area as well as the economics indicates that the area surrounding the Coliseum
is still rather run down, and that building projects are not occurring in that area. Indeed
the major building projects that have been undertaken in the last number of years have
been on the south end of Edmonton, while the area around the Coliseum has been largely
ignored. The same can be said for the area around Calgary’s major city rink, the
Saddledome. It, like the Northlands Coliseum, was supposed to revitalize that part of the
city, but the immediate surrounding area is characterized by vacant buildings in disrepair.
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Despite the failure of earlier arenas to revitalize the surrounding areas the argument has
proceeded.
Despite the fact that in Alberta the building of rinks has never revitalized an area
using this idea in arguments towards rink location has not subsided. In the early 1990s
when the Oilers and the operators of the Coliseum were having many issues with regards
to their lease agreement, the owner of the Oilers began to talk about the building of a
downtown arena once again. Peter Pocklington was unhappy with the condition of the
building as well as the amount of money he was able to generate from his lease. Other
teams were able to generate much more revenue from the terms of their agreements than
the Oilers, so he felt it may be time to move on from the Coliseum. (Edmonton Journal,
January 1993). This time again to the east of the Grant MacEwan campus, as had been
discussed prior to the building of the Northlands Coliseum. The same arguments were
made for this rink, and now these arguments are being used again to justify a new
downtown arena, or even more recently a south side arena. But the arguments for the
creation of these arenas are not simply a matter of financial benefits to the city, they are
also cultural. Large cultural conventions might be attracted, and bring opportunities for
new things to see in Edmonton. This is something that mayors of other cities claimed
coliseums had done for those cities (Edmonton Journal, September 24th, 1963). The idea
of needing to have these events in order to keep the elites of the city happy and present in
the city is also something that is discussed in Whitson and Macintosh’s “Becoming a
World Class City” namely that without such amenities certain influential people will
simply go elsewhere and that this is very bad for Edmonton.
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Possible new rink location in the 1990s (Edmonton Journal, January 20th ,1993)
From the building of the first rink trough the proposals of a rink to replace the
Coliseum one idea has remained, that the rink was needed to show the status of the city.
The idea of Edmonton as a world class city is an important one in the evolution of arenas
within the city. At the opening of each rink and some of the subsequent renovations of
the rinks they are heralded as being some of the best in the West, in Canada, or in the
World. Why is this so important to the city? Being superior or equal to other cities is
important for the city for many reasons. The more well known the city the more likely it
is that marquee events and world class performance and shows will be in the city. In a
somewhat cyclical way this creates more of an opportunity for the city in the form of
more world class events. Civic pride and rivalry are also caught up in this idea of the
world class city.
Edmonton builds the Thistle Rink, a sign of prestige and equality to the Eastern
Canadian cities. Strathcona not to be outdone by their northern rivals built the South Side
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Covered Rink. When the Edmonton Gardens opened though it was improvised ice
surface it was still heralded as being some of the best ice in the world, renovations kept
this status as long as it could. Until the world class Edmonton Coliseum was built, and
could take the responsibility of being the status holder. And now with the possibility that
the Coliseum may be in its twilight a new World Class Facility is needed.
Two design ideas for a new Edmonton Arena (edmontonjournal.com)
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Bibliography
1949 Letters between Northlands and Edmonton Gardens naming contest winner, at the
City of Edmonton Archives.
Alberta Magazine May/June 1982
Edmonton Bulletin October 1913-January 1951
Edmonton Examiner November 6th 1992
Edmonton Journal November 1913-February 1993
edmontonjournal.com
O’Riordan, Terence. ‘“Puck-eaters’: hockey as a unifying community experience in
Edmonton and Strathcona, 1894-1905 (Canadian Periodicals). Web. 2 Mar. 2010.
oilers.nhl.com
Strathcona Plaindealer Spring 1989
Whitson, David and Macintosh, Donald. “Becoming a World-Class City: Hallmark
Events and Sport Franchises in the Growth Strategies of Western Canadian
Cities” (Sociology of Sport Journal) 1993, 10, 221-240.