- Pacific Coliseum
infobox Stadium | stadium_name=Pacific Coliseum
nickname= "The Rink on Renfrew"
location=100 North Renfrew Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V5K 3N7
opened=January 8th, 1968 [cite book|last=Rud|first=Jeff |title=Canuck Legends, Vancouver's Hockey Heroes|publisher=Raincoast Books |year=2006|isbn=9781551928098]
owner=City of Vancouver
operator=
construction_cost=
architect= W.K. Noppe
tenants=Vancouver Canucks (WHL) (1968-1970)Vancouver Canucks (NHL) (1970-1995)Vancouver Nats (WHL) (1971-1973)Vancouver Blazers (WHA) (1973-1975)Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL Indoor) (1979-1984)Vancouver Voodoo (RHI) (1994-1995)Vancouver Giants (WHL) (2001-Present)
seating_capacity=Hockey: 16,281Pacific Coliseum is an indoor arena at
Hastings Park , inVancouver, British Columbia . Completed in 1968 at the site of thePacific National Exhibition , the arena currently holds 16,281 forice hockey , though capacity at its opening was 15,569.The Coliseum is currently the home of the
Vancouver Giants of theWestern Hockey League . The arena also hosts a variety of events and concerts. It has also been chosen as the venue forfigure skating andshort track speed skating in the2010 Winter Olympics .Other hockey tenants of the Pacific Coliseum have been the
Vancouver Canucks of the NHL from 1970-1995 and the WHL from 1968 to 1970, theVancouver Blazers of the WHA from 1973-1975 and theVancouver Voodoo of the RHI from 1994-1995.History
Designed by W.K. Noppe in 1966–67, with its simple geometric shape and distinctive ring of white panels, the building can be classified as formalist architecture. Used initially as home to the WHL's Vancouver Canucks, the building was used to attract an NHL franchise in 1970 and a
World Hockey Association franchise in 1973. The Coliseum underwent renovations and additions in the late 1970s, but its role as host of an NHL team and a main venue for events in Vancouver was lost with the building ofGM Place in 1995.Recent renovations were completed in 2007 to upgrade seating,
HVAC , and ice surface for its use as a venue for the2010 Winter Olympics [http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/WinterGames/2010GamesVenues/Competition/PC 2010 Games Venues] .Events
The Coliseum hosted its first NHL game on October 9, 1970. The
Los Angeles Kings defeated the Canucks 3–1 in the Canucks NHL debut. The Kings'Bob Berry scored the first goal, withBarry Wilkins scoring the first goal for the Canucks. Its final NHL game was played May 27, 1995.Chris Chelios scored the arena's last NHL goal in overtime as theChicago Blackhawks eliminated the Canucks in the conference quarterfinals.Roman Oksiuta scored the last Canucks goal.The 1982 and
1994 Stanley Cup Finals featured games at the Coliseum. OnMay 16 ,1982 , theNew York Islanders beat the Canucks 3–1 and were awarded the Stanley Cup on Coliseum ice. OnJune 11 , 1994, theNew York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks met at the Coliseum in Game 6 of theStanley Cup Finals.Jeff Brown andGeoff Courtnall each scored twice as the Canucks won the game 4–1 to even the series at three games apiece. However, they lost the series to New York by a 3–2 score in Game 7. Canucks ownerArthur Griffiths called it "the greatest game ever played at Pacific Coliseum." The Coliseum also hosted the 1977 NHL All-Star Game.The Coliseum hosted Game 4 of the 1972
Summit Series on September 8, with the U.S.S.R. beatingCanada 5–3. In a famous post-game interview,Phil Esposito gave an emotional response to the booing of the crowd that was broadcast on national television.The Pacific Colisieum also played host to the
2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the arena was used for theMadison Square Garden scene in the movie "Miracle".Memorial Cups
The Coliseum has hosted two
Memorial Cup tournaments. The first tournament was held in 1977 whenStan Smyl and theNew Westminster Bruins won their first Memorial Cup championship by defeating theOttawa 67's , 6–5. Smyl would eventually have a successful 13 year NHL career playing with the Vancouver Canucks and at the Coliseum. In addition, his #12 was retired by the Canucks on November 3, 1991 at the Coliseum, where it hung in the rafters until being moved toGeneral Motors Place in 1995.In 2006, the Giants were chosen to host the 2007 Memorial Cup Tournament from May 18–27. During this tournament the Coliseum surpassed the all-time Memorial Cup attendance record after only seven round-robin games with 91,808, and would eventually finish with a total attendance of 121,461. In the same tournament, the Vancouver Giants won the
Memorial Cup championship by defeating theMedicine Hat Tigers , 3–1.The Coliseum has also played host to World Wrestling Entertainment's weekly live television brodcast of Monday Night Raw, as well as the now defunct World Championship Wrestling's "New Blood Rising" pay per view.
References
External links
* [http://www.pne.ca/venuerental/pacific_coliseum.htm PNE.ca: Pacific Coliseum]
* [http://hockey.ballparks.com/NHL/VancouverCanucks/oldindex.htm Munsey & Suppes article on Pacific Coliseum]succession box
title = Home of theVancouver Giants
years = 2000 – present
before = first arena
after = currentsuccession box
title = Home of theVancouver Canucks
years = 1970 – 1995
before = first arena
after =General Motors Place succession box
title = Home of theVancouver Voodoo
years = 1994 – 1995
before =PNE Agrodome
after =General Motors Place succession box
title = Home of theVancouver Blazers
years = 1973 – 1975
before = first arena
after = last arenasuccession box
title = Host of theNHL All-Star Game
years = 1977
before =The Spectrum
after =Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
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