View of the Colisée Pepsi
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Former names | Colisée de Québec (1949-99) |
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Location |
ExpoCité 250, boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel Quebec City, Quebec G1L 5A7 |
Coordinates | 46°49′51″N 71°14′47″W / 46.83083°N 71.24639°WCoordinates: 46°49′51″N 71°14′47″W / 46.83083°N 71.24639°W |
Owner | Quebec City |
Operator | ExpoCité |
Capacity | 15,176 |
Surface | Multi-surface |
Construction | |
Broke ground | May 24, 1949 |
Opened | December 8, 1949 |
Closed | September 14, 2015 |
Construction cost |
C$3,000,000 ($31.2 million in 2017 dollars) |
Architect | Robert Blatter Bouchard & Rinfret |
Tenants | |
Quebec Aces (QSHL / AHL) (1950–1971) Quebec Nordiques (WHA / NHL) (1972–1995) Quebec Rafales (IHL) (1996–1998) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1969–1985, 1999–2015) Quebec Radio X (LNAH) (2003–2008) Quebec Citadelles (AHL) (1999–2002) |
Colisée Pepsi (formerly known as Colisée de Québec) was a multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec.
It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, and was also the home of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL from 1999 to 2015.
The Colisée would host the Québec International Peewee Hockey Tournament annually in February, with almost 2,300 young hockey players from 16 countries participating.
The barrel vault arena was originally built in 1949, seating 10,034, to replace a building on the same site that had burned down a year earlier. Built by architects Rinfret and Bouchard with directions from Robert Blatter and F. Caron, the arena was a mix of International Style exterior and Art Deco interior. It was known as "The House that Béliveau Built", as it was often filled to capacity in its earlier years to watch Jean Béliveau star for the Quebec Aces before moving to the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens. Two decades later, sellout crowds came to see Guy Lafleur as a member of the Quebec Remparts before, he too, would join the Canadiens.
Le Colisée underwent major renovations in 1980. The old entrance was taken down and replaced with a massive glass facade, and the seating capacity was increased to 15,750 to meet NHL standards of that era after the Nordiques made the jump from the WHA to the NHL. PepsiCo bought the naming rights on November 18, 1999, and current capacity is 15,176. Coincidentally, the former Quebec Nordiques, now known as the Colorado Avalanche, currently play at Pepsi Center in Denver.