Denman Arena
Photograph of Denman Arena in 1913
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| Location | Georgia Street at Denman Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
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| Owner | Vancouver Arena Company Limited |
| Capacity | 10,500 |
| Field size | 210 ft x 85 ft (surface) |
| Surface | mechanically frozen ice |
| Construction | |
| Opened | December 26, 1911 |
| Demolished | 1936 |
| Construction cost | $226,382 |
| Tenants | |
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Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) (1911–1926) New Westminster Royals (PCHA) (1911–1914) Vancouver Lions (PCHL, NWHL) (1928–1936) |
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Denman Arena was an indoor arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located at 1805 West Georgia Street at the northwest corner with Denman Street. It opened in December 1911 and was destroyed by fire in 1936. Its primary use was for ice sports such as ice hockey. It was the home ice rink of the Vancouver Millionaires professional ice hockey team, and was the location of several Stanley Cup championships. The arena was also used for other sports, musical performances and public assemblies. It was an assembly point for Canadian servicemen during World War I. The 10,500 seat arena was the largest in Canada at the time, and introduced mechanically frozen or "artificial" ice to Canada.
In January 1911, Joe Patrick sold his Nelson, British Columbia lumber business for $440,000. The Patrick family moved to Victoria and the decision was made to use the proceeds of the company sale to go into the business of professional ice hockey. The family built the Denman Arena to support the new Pacific Coast Hockey Association professional ice hockey league, to be run by Joe's sons Frank and Lester Patrick. Both Frank and Lester were professional ice hockey players and had played in the National Hockey Association and other early professional leagues in Eastern Canada. Simultaneously, the Patricks also built the 4000-seat Patrick Arena in Victoria.
To build the Vancouver arena, the Patricks bought a parcel of land consisting of thirteen lots from the water's edge of Coal Harbour to Georgia Street, bounded by Denman and Chilco Streets. The location was near Stanley Park to the west, and was connected to the downtown business district by a streetcar line along Georgia Street. The site was previously the location of the Kanaka Ranch, which was settled in the 1860s by Hawaiian families, who grew fruit and vegetables, and produced charcoal, on the site.
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