Edmonton Gardens
| The Cow Barn | |
 |
|
| Former names | Edmonton Stock Pavilion |
|---|---|
| Location | SW corner of 118 Avenue & 73 Street,Edmonton, Alberta |
| Coordinates | 53°34′10″N 113°27′26″W / 53.56944°N 113.45722°WCoordinates: 53°34′10″N 113°27′26″W / 53.56944°N 113.45722°W |
| Owner | City of Edmonton |
| Operator | Northlands Park |
| Capacity | 5,200 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1912 |
| Opened | December 13, 1913 |
| Renovated | 1947, 1963, 1966 |
| Demolished | February 1982 |
| Construction cost |
C$163,827 Renovations: 1947: $329,156 ($4.05 million in 2016 dollars) 1963: $60,000 ($473 thousand in 2016 dollars) 1966: $670,000 ($4.85 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Tenants | |
|
Edmonton Drillers (NASL) 1980–81 Alberta/Edmonton Oilers (WHA) 1972–1974 Edmonton Oil Kings (WCJHL/CAHL) 1951–66 (CMJHL/WCHL) 1966–1974 Edmonton Flyers (ASHL/WCSHL) 1939–51, (PCHL) 1951–52, (WHL) 1952–63 Edmonton Eskimos 1913–1919, (Big Four) 1919–21, (WCHL/PHL) 1921–1927, (ASHL) 1938–39 Edmonton Dominions(ASHL) 1936–38 |
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The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations.
It was home to the World Hockey Association's Edmonton Oilers from 1972 to 1974. The Oilers moved to the brand new Northlands Coliseum after the 1973–74 season. In addition to the Oilers, the Edmonton Oil Kings, Edmonton Eskimos hockey team, and Edmonton Flyers played their home games at Edmonton Gardens. It held a wide variety of events, including hockey, curling, basketball, boxing, figure skating, circuses, rodeos, bingo nights, car shows, conventions, horse shows, and bull sales.
The arena was built at the fairgrounds in order to be away from the city, thus allowing it to also be used as a livestock pavilion, alongside the stables and horse race track. The Northlands Park race track still exists on the exhibition grounds. The opening ceremonies were held on Christmas Day 1913, exactly 19 years after Edmonton's first hockey game, featuring a hockey game between two Stanley Cup finalists, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Edmonton Dominions, in which over 2,000 fans attended. Their previous arena, Thistle Rink, had just burnt down that year. The Dominion's forward Russell "Barney" Stanley would become a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the arena would be home to other Stanley Cup finalist teams, Memorial Cup teams, and three Memorial Cups. It was the only home of the Edmonton Flyers (1939–51).
The Gardens got the nickname "The Cow Barn" from attendants emphasizing its use for agriculture exhibitions, in particular for livestock shows. It also was notorious for bad sight lines and uncomfortable seats. The girders, that were also in the way of spectators, dripped water onto the ice/play surface creating mounds during play. By the 1960s, it was often criticized as being a fire hazard. A $60,000 improvement in 1963 did little to improve its safety, leading to having seven Edmonton Fire Department firemen stationed at each event. Media increasingly called it a dirty, obsolete, and rickety building, and an April 15, 1966 Edmonton Journal article called Edmonton Gardens "a disaster waiting to happen. The old house, with its obsolete lighting fixtures, oily wooden floors, and sordid washrooms, is an eyesore to hockey fans." The following month, the city Fire Chief condemned it, and ordered it closed as a fire hazard. That summer saw a $670,000 renovation that gutted the interior, and replaced the steel girders with eight inch columns at 45°. The wooden bleachers were replaced with a fireproof concrete grandstand, and reduced the seating capacity to 5,200.
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