Victoria Arena (Calgary)

The Victoria Arena was the main ice hockey arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and one of the first. It was the home arena of the Calgary Tigers, a professional ice hockey team which played in the Western Canada Hockey League which used it from 1920 until 1934. Later the Calgary Stampeders ice hockey club used it until 1950. It was located in 'Victoria Park', later the home of the Calgary Stampede. The building was also used for horse shows and livestock. The arena completed its useful life as a curling rink, comprising four sheets on the hockey ice surface and an additional two sheets on attached sheds. During its final years as a curling rink the seating bleachers were condemned for safe usage and cordoned off from public access.

History

The Arena was built before World War I for the use of the army, and was originally named the 'Horseshoe Arena'.^[1] It was renamed after 1918 and taken over by the City of Calgary for the use of the Calgary Vics club.

Lloyd Turner, manager of the Calgary Tigers, returned in 1932 to manage the facility. That year, artificial ice was installed. The arena later hosted the Allan Cup championships.^[2]

The Arena was replaced in 1950 by the Stampede Corral arena, located nearby.

References

1. "Calgary Vics—A New Era Of Hockey In The South". Retrieved 2007-12-13.
2. "Lloyd Turner biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-13.