FirstOntario Center
| FirstOntario Center | |
|---|---|
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| The FirstOntario Center in March 2014 | |
| Earlier names | |
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Victor K. Copps Trade Center and Arena ( Copps Coliseum , until 2014) |
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| Data | |
| place |
 Hamilton , Ontario , Canada
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| Coordinates | 43 ° 15 '32.9 " N , 79 ° 52' 21.4" W |
| owner | City of Hamilton |
| operator | Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc |
| start of building | 1983 |
| opening | 1985 |
| surface |
Parquet ice surface |
| costs | 33.5 million US dollars |
| capacity | 17,383 (ice hockey) 19,000 (concerts) |
| Societies) | |
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| Events | |
The FirstOntario Center (originally Copps Coliseum ) is a multi-purpose arena in Hamilton , Ontario , and has been the home of the Hamilton Bulldogs from the Ontario Hockey League since 2015 . The arena opened in 1985 and was named after Victor Copps , a former Hamilton city mayor , until 2014 . On January 27, 2014 it was announced that the arena will in future, with the approval of the Copps family, be named FirstOntario Center . The local financial institution FirstOntario Credit Union pays 3.5 million CAD over ten years.
history
Construction on the arena began in 1983 and was completed in 1985, the construction costs amounted to 33.5 million US dollars . Added to this was an additional $ 2.3 million for the construction of the nearby parking garage. The scoreboard was previously in the Winnipeg Arena and was purchased for $ 214,000.
After initial hopes, is that an NHL - Franchise could in Hamilton settle, the hall was initially only of junior teams from the Ontario Hockey League used. With the Hamilton Canucks , the city finally got its own team in the American Hockey League in 1992 , which, however, moved to Syracuse , New York , after only two seasons , and continued playing there as Syracuse Crunch . From 1996 to 2015, the Copps Coliseum was the home of the AHL franchises Hamilton Bulldogs , a former farm team of the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL and later partner of the Montreal Canadiens . In 2015 the team was relocated, so that another franchise of the same name from the Ontario Hockey League is now using the arena.
In 1986, the Copps Coliseum was also the venue for the Junior World Championships . In the decisive game, the USSR beat the hosts from Canada and became U20 world champions for the seventh time in the tenth edition. The following year the stadium was also the main venue for the Canada Cup and the venue for the 1991 event .
On January 24, 1988, the first Royal Rumble in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment was held in the arena . The mass fight was won by Jim Duggan .
In 1990 the final round of the Memorial Cup , the official Canadian junior championship, took place at the Copps Coliseum . With 17,388 spectators, the Oshawa Generals versus Kitchener Rangers encounter on May 13th set the attendance record for a game in this tournament. Although the stadium never hosted a NHl team, several regular season games of the nearby Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabers took place in the Coliseum in the 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons .
Together with the SkyDome and the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Copps Coliseum hosted the 1994 Basketball World Cup in 1994 , and the Toronto Raptors played a number of NBA home games in the arena in the late 1990s .
From March 3 to 11, 2007, the stadium hosted the Canadian Curling Championships. That same year, billionaire Jim Balsillie , vice president of Research In Motion , made a $ 220 million offer to buy the NHL's Nashville Predators . His plan was to relocate the franchise in Hamilton and accommodate it during the construction phase of a new arena in the Copps Coliseum or to renovate the old venue according to NHL specifications. However, the purchase offer was not accepted.
Concerts
In addition to the sporting events, the FirstOntario Center is used as a concert hall.
Web links
- Official Homepage (English)
- OHL Arena & Travel Guide (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ cbc.ca: Copps Coliseum set to be renamed FirstOntario Center Article from January 27, 2014 (English)
- ↑ setlist.fm: concert list of the Copps Coliseum and the FirstOntario Center (English)
Barrie Molson Center (Barrie) | Louis J. Tullio Arena (Erie) | There Federal Credit Union Event Center (Flint) | Sleeman Center (Guelph) | FirstOntario Center (Hamilton) | K-Rock Center (Kingston) | Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex (Kitchener) | John Labatt Center (London) | Paramount Fine Foods Center (Mississauga) | Gatorade Garden City Complex (Niagara) | General Motors Center (Oshawa) | TD Place Arena (Ottawa) | Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Center (Owen Sound) | Peterborough Memorial Center (Peterborough) | The Dow Event Center (Saginaw) | RBC Center (Sarnia) | Essar Center (Sault Ste. Marie) | Sudbury Community Arena (Sudbury) | WFCU Center (Windsor)