Edmonton Gardens

Edmonton Gardens
Image of Edmonton Gardens courtesy the City of Edmonton Archives

  Administrative  
Address
Edmonton, Ab
Canada
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Location
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  The Facility  
Date Built December 13, 1913
Date Demolished 1974
Ownership
(Management)
City of Edmonton
(City of Edmonton)
Cost of Construction Unknown
  Other Facts  
Former Tenants Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Dominions
Edmonton Oil Kings
Edmonton Flyers
Edmonton Oilers (WHA)
Capacity 5,200
On Site Parking Unknown

Sources:Mediaventures
Ballparks Virtual Mall
With the Edmonton Eskimos playing for the Stanley Cup in both 1908 and 1910, the Thistle Rink was no longer a satisfactory showpiece for hockey in the city.

The Eskimos had earned a large following of fans, and even though each of the teamÕs Stanley Cup challenges ended in defeat, the Eskimos had created enough of a buzz in the city that rumours of a professional league coming to Alberta were rampant in both the Journal and the Bulletin.

Plans were made for a new arena to be built on the cityÕs fairgroundÕs site. Because this arena and livestock pavilion would be built away from downtown, it could offer significantly more seats than the Thistle.

On Christmas Day, 1913, exactly 19 years after the first-ever recorded game in Edmonton, the city finally had an indoor arena. The size of the new Edmonton ArenaÑlater named the Edmonton GardensÑallowed for a rink that was significantly longer than the old surface at the Thistle Rink. The ice surface was 66 metres longÑactually 6 metres longer than a current National Hockey League rink.

The opening was celebrated by an exhibition game between the two-time Stanley Cup finalists Eskimos and the Dominion Furriers team, better known as the Edmonton Dominions. Over 2,000 fans came to watch the game, despite it being a holiday. It was the largest gathering for hockey the city had ever seen. The Dominions triumphed 4-2.

That season, the Dominions won the Alberta Senior Amateur Championship with an 11-5 win over Medicine Hat. Led by forward and future Hockey Hall of Famer Russell ÒBarneyÓ Stanley and goaltender Court MayÑat the time the best goalie the province had ever seenÑthe Dominions replaced the Eskimos as the talk of Edmonton hockey fans, and that win in the first-ever game at the Arena acted as a ceremonial passing of the torch.

The Gardens would go on to host the Alberta senior champion Edmonton Flyers, Memorial Cups, the legendary Edmonton Oil Kings and the Edmonton Oilers in their early World Hockey Association years.

Dick Rice, a former Navy radio operator, would begin radio broadcasts from the Gardens in 1928.

After the opening of Northlands Coliseum in 1974, the Edmonton Gardens was an antiquated 5,200-seat facility that was no longer needed. It was demolished and on the same site where it stood, the Northlands AgricomÑwhich hosts a variety of trade fairs, sporting events, concerts and eventsÑwas built.

Edmonton Oilers (WHA) / Edmonton Oilers (NHL)

Edmonton
Gardens

Edmonton
Gardens

1972-1974
Northlands
Coliseum

Northlands Coliseum

1974-1979
Rexall
Place

Rexall Place

1979-Present
New
Arena

New Arena

Future



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