Quinte Health and Wellness Centre
 | |
| Former names | Quinte Sports Centre |
|---|---|
| Location | 265 Canifton Road, Belleville |
| Owner | City of Belleville |
| Operator | City of Belleville |
| Capacity | Hockey: 3,257 |
| Field size | 60M X 30M |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1976 |
| Opened | 1978 |
| Tenants | |
| Belleville Bulls (OHL) (1981–2015) | |
Yardmen Arena is a 3,257 seat multi-purpose arena in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1978, and was then known as the Quinte Sports Centre. It is the former home of the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls, who moved to Hamilton, Ontario following the 2014-15 season and became the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Yardmen Arena has hosted the OHL All-Star Game twice, in 1983 and 2006.
The arena's name is in honour of a small group of railroaders known as "The Belleville Yardmen" who raised more than $3 million to contribute to its construction.
The Quinte Sports Hall of Fame is located in the lobby at the south end of the arena. Many photos and memories are located in there. The Belleville Bulls annual team photos are on display at the north end of the arena on the second level.
The arena has an international sized ice surface of 200 ft. length by 100 ft. width. It is the largest ice surface in the Ontario Hockey League. Yardmen Arena also has two balconies, on opposite sides of the ice. It was the only arena in the Ontario Hockey League to have a second level of seating until Budweiser Gardens was built in London, Ontario in 2002.
Yardmen Arena hosted an NHL pre-season game between the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on September 14, 2013 as part of the Kraft Hockeyville festivities. Nearby Stirling-Rawdon won the Kraft Hockeyville contest in 2012, but the original game scheduled between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets was cancelled due to the 2012-13 NHL lockout.
During the 2015-16 hockey season, Yardmen Arena will be host to three Federal Hockey League games. The FHL is a minor professional league in operation since the 2010-11 season, with 6 teams and 2 inactive teams, and should Belleville gain a franchise, their nearest opponent would be just across the US/Canada border, about 100 miles to the East, in Watertown, NY, home of the Watertown Wolves. The Three games will feature one of the FHL's new teams for 2015-16, the Berlin River Drivers, and the opponents will be the Port Huron Prowlers on December 12th, the Danbury Titans on January 2nd, and the Dayton Demolition on February 13th.[1]
Photo gallery
-
Interior of Yardmen Arena.
-
OHL All-Star Game 2006 Opening Face Off.
February 1st, 2006.
References
External links
| ||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 44°11′19″N 77°22′58″W / 44.18861°N 77.38278°W