Hockey arena facing demolition in Canada

An arena best known for being the longtime home of the Edmonton Oilers may be headed for demolition, following a city council vote in Edmonton, Alberta.

The former Northlands Coliseum (later known as Rexall Place and Skyreach Centre) last hosted a hockey game in 2016. According to local media reports, in its underutilized state, it costs the city’s government more than CA$1 million ($740,000) per year to maintain.

GlobalNews.ca reports Edmonton Council voted 8-5 to demolish the arena and redevelop the 160 acres on which the structure and its parking lots sit.

While the demolition project also will require funding, one of the representatives who voted in favor of the project is quoted by Global News as saying, “I just don’t think it’s responsible to continue kicking the can down the road, ultimately at the expense of taxpayers.”

A report from CFWE Radio indicates demolition could cost CA$35 million ($25.8 million) in a process that could take up to four years. “There is no planned date yet for the project, with the city saying that design work still needs to go forward before demolition,” according to the radio station.

The Oilers franchise was originally part of the World Hockey Association but joined the NHL in 1979. In hosting the Oilers from 1974 until 2016, the former Northlands Coliseum housed the Oilers when the franchise won all five of its Stanley Cups. Four of those championships featured Wayne Gretzky.

In the fall of 2016, the Oilers began playing in the 18,500-seat Rogers Place, closer to Edmonton’s central business district.

The Northlands Coliseum demolition and redevelopment project is part of a wider 200-acre Edmonton Exhibition Lands plan formulated by and for the city and released in 2020.

The 41-page document outlining that plan says the city will try to preserve some buildings for renovation and reuse. Other buildings, including the arena, were to be secured and “operated in a dark manner” until they could be “demolished or [have] ownership transferred.”

In terms of redevelopment, CFWE says the land “will eventually hold a park, plaza and a [light rail] station.”