Rexall Place

Rexall Place

North face of Rexall Place
Former names	Northlands Coliseum (1974–1995) Edmonton Coliseum (1995–1998) Skyreach Centre (1998–2003)
Location	7424 118 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
Coordinates	53°34′17″N 113°27′22″W / 53.57139°N 113.45611°WCoordinates: 53°34′17″N 113°27′22″W / 53.57139°N 113.45611°W
Public transit	Edmonton LRT (Coliseum) Edmonton Transit System (5, 8, 10, 99, 127, 141, 142, 318)
Owner	Northlands
Operator	Northlands
Capacity	Hockey: 16,839 Concerts: 13,000 (approx)[1]
Field size	497,700 square feet (46,240 m^2)[2]
Construction
Broke ground	November 3, 1972
Opened	November 10, 1974
Construction cost	C$17.3 million[3] ($83.7 million in 2016 dollars[4])
Architect	Phillips, Barrett, Hillier, Jones Partners Wynn, Forbes, Lord, Feldberg & Schmidt[5]
Structural engineer	Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.[6]
General contractor	Batoni Bowlen Enterprises[7]
Main contractors	SE Johnson Ltd. (mechanical)[8]
Tenants
Edmonton Oilers (WHA/NHL) (1974–2016) Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) (2007–2016) Edmonton Rush (NLL) (2006–2015) Edmonton Drillers (CMISL) (2007) Edmonton Road Runners (AHL) (2004–2005) Edmonton Drillers (NPSL) (1996–2000) Edmonton Sled Dogs (RHI) (1994) Edmonton Skyhawks (NBL) (1993–1994) Edmonton Drillers (NASL) (1980–1982) Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) (1974–1976)
Website
Official website

Rexall Place is an indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was the home to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The arena opened in 1974 as Northlands Coliseum and was later known as Edmonton Coliseum and Skyreach Centre.

The arena hosted the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup hockey tournaments, the 1978 Commonwealth Games, seven Stanley Cup finals (loss captained by Lee Fogolin in 1982–1983 to the New York Islanders; victories captained by Wayne Gretzky in 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88; victory captained by Mark Messier in 1989–90; and a loss captained by Jason Smith in 2005–2006 to the Carolina Hurricanes), many other hockey events, along with prominent events in rodeo and wrestling.

The final NHL game was played at Rexall Place on April 6, 2016. Rexall Place is expected to continue operating as a concert venue and then as a venue for minor-league sports.

History

Rexall Place, then known as "Skyreach Centre", seen in 2001.

When the arena opened on November 10, 1974, it was known as Northlands Coliseum to house the World Hockey Association Oilers, named after the nonprofit organization that still owns the arena today. Then it became the Edmonton Coliseum in 1995, and Skyreach Centre in 1998,^[9] before it changed to its current name during the middle of the 2003–04 NHL season when its naming rights were purchased by the Rexall medicine company, a subsidiary of Katz Group Canada.^[10] The Katz Group now owns the Oilers and the Oil Kings through a subsidiary.

The arena was used to host games in the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup hockey tournaments, including Game 2 of the 1984 finals between Canada and Sweden. In the 1995 World Junior Championships, which were held in various cities and towns throughout Alberta, Edmonton Coliseum was the site of several games, including Canada's 6–3 victory over Finland on New Year's Day. The arena was one of the venues for the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

The venue was the site of several Commonwealth Games sports in 1978, and part of Universiade (the World University Games) in 1983. It also hosted the World Wrestling Entertainment 2004 Backlash pay per view, and the CHL Top Prospects Game in 2008.^[11] Annual events include the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Christian Conference, YC Alberta.

Before the 2007-08 season started, the Oilers dressing room was renovated for $3.5 million. The state-of-art room is now wider with a new medical room, lounge, bar, video room, weight room as well as other new facilities. Just after the entrance to the dressing room is a cubicle with 5 replica Stanley Cups in it that has all the names of the past Oilers who won cups with the team. Next to the 5 replicas is an empty space symbolizing that there is always room for another.^[12]

The Oilers' last game at Rexall Place was April 6, 2016, against the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers won 6-2; the last NHL goal was scored by Oiler Leon Draisaitl. After the game, many former Oilers gathered at center ice for a farewell ceremony for the arena.^[13]

Arena information

Rexall Place at night

The official capacity for hockey is currently 16,839, which is slightly less than the 17,100 the arena held before the 2001–02 NHL season. It is one of three NHL arenas (the others being the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and Barclays Center in Brooklyn) not capable of seating more than 17,000 fans in its current configuration. When it opened, the capacity was 15,423, but it was increased to 17,490 after the Oilers joined the NHL by adding an extra tier of seating on the side opposite the pressbox. This was increased to 17,498 in 1982 and to 17,503 in 1986. The arena underwent an extensive renovation in 1994 in which the seating capacity was reduced to make way for 52 luxury suites. 15 more suites were added in 2001. The arena can also be noisy, as noise levels have reached 119 dB during playoff games.^[14]

Rexall Place was the first NHL arena in Canada to have a centre-hung scoreboard with an electronic messageboard; the original scoreboard including a black-and-white dot matrix board. This was replaced in 1987 by a centre-hung scoreboard with a colour matrix screen, which in 1994 was replaced with an eight-sided scoreboard with four video screens. The current centre-hung scoreboard, designed by White Way Sign,^[15] features eight message boards at the top and four video screens at the bottom, separated by LED rings. Rexall Place also features 360 degree fascia signage by Daktronics.

Rexall Place is the only NHL arena with the player benches on the same side as the TV cameras. In all other NHL venues, the TV cameras are on the same side as the scorekeepers table and penalty boxes.^[16]

Future

Given the age and small size of Rexall Place (third oldest and third smallest NHL arena in 2010), the construction of a new arena for the Edmonton Oilers was proposed by the Katz Group in 2010. An agreement was reached in January 2012 between the Katz Group and the City of Edmonton for the construction of Rogers Place arena in Downtown Edmonton. Construction started in March 2014, and is expected to open before the 2016–17 NHL season; the new arena will have a seating capacity of 18,641.^[17] Northlands has stated that Rexall Place will remain open.^[18] On February 17, 2016, Northlands unveiled plans to convert Rexall Place into a multi-level ice facility, and rename it the Northlands Ice Coliseum.^[19]

Notable events

• The 1975 Skate Canada International.
• Gymnastics in the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
• The 1981 Canada Cup, along with three other venues in Canada.
• Games 1 & 2 of the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals.
• The 1984 Canada Cup, along with six other venues in Canada and the United States.
• Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals.
• Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals.
• Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals.
• Games 1, 2, and 5 of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals.
• The 1989 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
• Games 3 and 4 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals.
• The 1994 Canadian Figure Skating Championships.
• The 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
• The 1995 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, along with 12 other venues in Alberta.
• The 1996 World Figure Skating Championships.
• The 1999, 2005, and 2013 Tim Hortons Briers.
• Toronto Raptors preseason games in 1999 and 2008^[20]
• The 2004 Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced by World Wrestling Entertainment.
• The 2004 Canadian Figure Skating Championships.
• Games 3, 4, and 6 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.
• The 2007 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.
• The 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game.
• The 2008 National Lacrosse League All Star Game.
• The 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.
• The 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (in December 2011), along with the Scotiabank Saddledome.
• Last NHL game on April 6, 2016
• The 2017 Ford World Men's Curling Championship

Live recordings

The following bands recorded live performances in the arena:

• ABBA started their North American tour here in 1979, part of the tour document was recorded here.
• Trooper (band) filmed their single 3 Dressed Up As a 9 from their album Flying Colors (Trooper album) on November 9, 1979 at the arena.^[21]
• Billy Graham videotaped his 1980 Northern Alberta crusade at the arena, which also featured a young Amy Grant as a musical guest.
• Dottie West recorded her 1983 Showtime special Dottie West: Full Circle with the Alberta Orchestra at the arena, which also featured Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, John Schneider, David Frizzell and Shelly West in August 1982.
• Rush performed at the arena on June 25, 1981; two songs from this concert were included on the 2012 reissue of their album 2112.
• Yes filmed their 1984 concert film 9012Live at the arena.
• Nickelback filmed their 2002 concert video Live at Home at the arena.
• Our Lady Peace recorded part of their 2003 record Live at the arena.
• Michael W. Smith recorded his live "Worship" DVD at YC Alberta.
• Corb Lund recorded his 2007 concert on video during the course of the Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! tour.
• Thousand Foot Krutch filmed their concert at YC Alberta on May 28, 2010 at the arena. Around 17500 fans filled the arena for the concert.
• Metallica filmed part of their film Through The Never film during their two nights at the arena on August 17 and 18, 2012.
• Demi Lovato's performance at the arena on October 4, 2014 was filmed for a DVD release.

References

1. "Rexall Place Tickets". Ticketmaster.
2. Jones, Terry (April 16, 2014). "City, Katz Group, PCL working together to deliver world-class arena on approved budget". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
3. Markusoff, Jason (March 25, 2008). "Door Not Quite Shut on Provincial Aid". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
4. Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada. "Consumer Price Index, historical summary". CANSIM, table (for fee) 326-0021 and Catalogue nos. 62-001-X, 62-010-X and 62-557-X. And Consumer Price Index, by province (monthly) (Canada) Last modified 2016-01-22. Retrieved March 2, 2016
5. "Edmonton Oilers, Rexall Place". Design Intelligence. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
6. Association of Consulting Engineering Companies
7. "Initial Bids For Coliseum Announced". Edmonton Journal. March 10, 1973. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
8. SE Johnson
9. Zoltak, James (October 12, 1998). "Skyreach Equipment Ltd. Purchases Naming Rights At Edmonton Coliseum". Amusement Business. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
10. "Oilers' Skyreach Centre Renamed". CBC Sports. November 20, 2003. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
11. "Edmonton Oil Kings to host 2008 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game". Hockey's Future. March 28, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
12. "Oilers Hope Change is Good". National Post. September 18, 2007. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
13. Tychkowski, Robert (April 6, 2016). "Edmonton Oilers dominate Vancouver Canucks in final game at Rexall Place". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
14. "Rexall Place". Ballparks.com. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
15. http://www.whiteway.com/SportsCustomers.html
16. "Good things come in Threes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2013-11-13.
17. Kent, Gordon (February 12, 2014). "Downtown arena gets green light for $480M". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
18. Kent, Gordon (April 8, 2011). "Northlands vows Rexall Place will stay open despite new arena". Edmonton Journal. canada.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
19. Ramsay, Caley (February 17, 2016). "Cost of transforming Rexall Place into two-level ice facility pegged at $85M". Global News. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
20. "Raptors Face Nuggets In Edmonton In Pre-Season Tilt". National Basketball Association. July 30, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3uH-vamqJg

External links

• Official website
• Rexall Place at Hockeyarenas.net