FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000.
Hamilton was left without a large ice hockey venue after the Barton Street Arena was demolished in 1977, and even that arena had a small seating capacity by modern standards. Construction on the new site was started in 1983 and completed two years later at a cost of $33.5million, with an additional $2.3million spent on a parking garage. The project was overseen by Hamiltonian Joseph Pigott.[6] The arena was originally named Copps Coliseum after long-time mayor Victor Copps, the patriarch of a Hamilton political family that includes his daughter, former Member of Parliament of Canada and Member of Provincial Parliament of OntarioSheila Copps, and wife, Geraldine, who was a long-time councillor.
The arena's first scoreboard was purchased from the Winnipeg Arena for $214,000. That original Day Signs/Naden scoreboard, built in Toronto, was replaced in the early-1990s by a centre-hung scoreboard with an electronic message centre on each side, which, in return was replaced by the current scoreboard, which was built in Hamilton by Media Resources, featuring a LED video board on each side.
The first WWFRoyal Rumble, which was shown on the USA Network, was held in the arena on January 24, 1988. Copps hosted the WWF pay-per-view Breakdown: In Your House on September 27, 1998, and the Billy Graham crusade that year, attended by 19,000 spectators each night. The Grateful Dead played the Coliseum on four occasions, with two dates in 1990 and two dates in 1992.
In November 2022, it was announced that beginning in the late summer of 2023, the arena would close for 20 months due to renovations. This will force the Bulldogs and Rock to relocate for all of the 2023–24 season and most of the 2024–25 season.[7] As a result of the closure, the Honey Badgers decided to permanently relocate to Brampton, Ontario.[8] The Bulldogs rebranded as the Brantford Bulldogs and will play home games at the Brantford Civic Centre. The renovations were delayed until December 2023 to allow the Rock to play their first couple games of the 2023-24 season at the arena, before moving to the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.[9] This was also to allow 5 Cirque du Soleil performances at the arena before its closing. However, in September 2023, it was announced that renovation would be delayed and that the Toronto Rock will play the entirety of the 2023/24 season in Hamilton before relocating to Mississauga for the 2024/25 season.[10]
The Coliseum was host to the 1994 FIBA World Championship, along with Maple Leaf Gardens and SkyDome. The next year, the Centre hosted the FIBA Americas Championship for Women, which was won by Canada. During their first two seasons of play (1995–96 and 1996–97), prior to the completion of construction on their new home the Air Canada Centre, the Toronto Raptors played three regular season games at Copps Coliseum,[11] as well as a preseason game in 1997.[12] In 1998 a strange twist of scheduling conflicts led the Toronto Raptors to play their final regular season game in Hamilton, as the Toronto Blue Jays had first right of refusal for all SkyDome dates. The Raptors had attempted to play the April 19 match at Maple Leaf Gardens, but were unsuccessful.[13]
In October 1996, Copps Coliseum became home to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. The Bulldogs, who were the top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (1996–2003) and the Montreal Canadiens (2002–2015), brought over 2 million fans to the arena. On June 7, 2007, the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs won their first Calder Cup Championship in franchise history at home in Copps Coliseum, defeating the Hershey Bears.
In 2015, Montreal moved its AHL affiliate to St. John's,[14] and the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls moved to Hamilton to carry the Bulldogs banner, and Hamilton's traditional black and yellow colours, in the junior league.[15] The Bulldogs are the primary tenant in the facility.
NHL ambitions
Copps Coliseum was built to National Hockey League capacity and specifications in the hope that it would allow Hamilton to acquire an NHL expansion franchise. However, said arena is just 36.3 miles from the home venue of the Toronto Maple Leafs and 57.9 miles from the home venue of the Buffalo Sabres, both of which have opposed an NHL franchise in Hamilton. Copps hosted 8 regular-season neutral-site games during the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, mostly featuring the Maple Leafs or Sabres.
In 2007, Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion, made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators for $220million US. His intention was to move the team to Hamilton and either use Copps Coliseum as a temporary home while a new state-of-the-art arena could be built, or to renovate the Coliseum to bring it up to modern NHL standards. The bid was unsuccessful. In the spring of 2009, the Phoenix Coyotes filed for bankruptcy and Jim Balsillie immediately offered a rumoured $212.5million US, while stating he wanted to move the franchise to southwestern Ontario.[16] Balsillie applied for a lease option which, should the relocation have succeeded, would have invoked a 20-year lease for the team to play at Copps Coliseum.[17][18] On May 9, 2009, the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator and others reported that Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger was to meet with a second group interested in securing a lease. The group, led by Vancouver businessmen Tom Gaglardi and Nelson Skalbania, was interested in securing an interest in the Atlanta Thrashers and moving them to the centre for the 2010–11 NHL season.[19] The team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, becoming the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets instead. On May 13, 2009, The Canadian Press reported on TSN.ca that Balsillie won the exclusive rights to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum until November after a unanimous vote by Hamilton city council. On May 29, 2009, Balsillie unveiled his plans to renovate the Centre into a state-of-the-art facility in anticipation of an NHL franchise coming to Hamilton.[20] It is unknown whether these renovations will come to fruition since Balsillie lost his bid to buy the Coyotes.
In 2008, it was announced that the Golden Horseshoe would be bidding for the 2015 Pan American Games. On February 18, 2009, Copps Coliseum was identified as the proposed site for the volleyball competition for the Games, but it did not host any events.
On January 3, 2014, Nitro Circus performed at the stadium for the first ever and only stop in Canada. Due to the high-risk nature of their stunt-based shows, most North American venues will not host the events.
On January 27, 2014, Hamilton City council voted unanimously to approve a $3.5-million deal to rename Copps Coliseum after local credit union First Ontario. The city unveiled the new look signage, FirstOntario Centre, later that spring. A smaller sign reading "In honour of Victor K. Copps" appears to its right on the Bay side of the arena, and below it on the York side.
Curling
In 2007, from March 3 to 11, Copps Coliseum hosted the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier, the annual Canadian men's curling championship. The Coliseum hosted the West 49 Canadian Open, from September 20 to October 1.
Images
FirstOntario Centre, Bay St., looking north
FirstOntario Centre
FirstOntario Centre looking east on York Boulevard
Scotiabank Arena, formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In addition, the minor league Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League play occasional games at the arena. The arena was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. Scotiabank Arena also hosts other events, such as concerts, political conventions and video game competitions.
The Paramount Fine Foods Centre, formerly the Hershey Centre, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Its current name was adopted on July 1, 2018, following a new naming rights agreement with Mississauga-based restaurant chain Paramount Fine Foods.
The Toronto Roadrunners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita, Brad Winchester, Jamie Wright and Steve Valiquette who helped them advance to the AHL playoffs where they lost the first round to the Cleveland Barons.
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hockey games.
TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The arena can seat 5,500 people, and with the upper bowl open it can hold 8,585 people. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The arena has hosted Canadian and world championships in figure skating, curling, and ice hockey, including the first women's world ice hockey championship in 1990. It is also used for concerts and conventions such as Ottawa SuperEX.
Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Ivor Wynne Stadium was a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The stadium was the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 1950 until it closed on October 27, 2012. The club's previous home was the Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds. The stadium was replaced by Tim Hortons Field, with a fixed capacity of 24,000, on the same property.
The Hamilton Bulldogs were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Hamilton, Ontario, at FirstOntario Centre, nicknamed 'The Dog Pound'. They were the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens as two separate franchises over 19 seasons of continuous participation in the AHL. The team won the Calder Cup once in its history, in 2007.
Coca-Cola Coliseum is an arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, used for agricultural displays, ice hockey, and trade shows. It was built for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 1921. Since 1997 it has been part of the Enercare Centre exhibition complex. It serves as the home arena of the Toronto Marlies ice hockey team, the American Hockey League farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. For the 2015 Pan American Games the venue hosted the gymnastics competitions and was known as the Toronto Coliseum.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, it is the largest sports and entertainment company in Canada, and one of the largest in North America.
The Dukes of Hamilton, also known as the Hamilton Dukes, were a junior ice hockey team that represented Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons from 1989 to 1991.
The Hamilton Steelhawks were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1984 to 1988. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario, and played at Copps Coliseum.
In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I and Tier II. In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.
The 1989–90 OHL season was the tenth season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Toronto Marlboros become the Dukes of Hamilton. The Guelph Platers become the Owen Sound Platers. The Kingston Raiders are renamed the Kingston Frontenacs. The OHL Executive of the Year award is inaugurated. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Oshawa Generals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Kitchener Rangers.
Below is a timeline of events in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
In 1930 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada was the site of the very first Commonwealth Games, then known as the British Empire Games. The Games came to Hamilton as a result of the efforts of Melville Marks Robinson, and were Canada's first major international athletic event, and bid unsuccessfully for the Commonwealth Games in 2010, losing out to New Delhi in India. On 7 November 2009, in Guadalajara, Mexico it was announced that Toronto will host the 2015 Pan Am Games after beating out two rival South American cities, Lima, Peru and Bogota, Colombia. The city of Hamilton will be co-hosting the Games with Toronto. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said "the Pan Am Games will provide a 'unique opportunity for Hamilton to renew major sport facilities giving Hamiltonians a multi-purpose stadium, a 50-metre swimming pool, and an international-calibre velodrome to enjoy for generations to come.'"
The city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has a long history of sport. It is home to a number of clubs, including the Granite Club, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the Argonaut Rowing Club, Toronto Argonauts football club, the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, and the Badminton and Racquet Club. A number of heritage venues have developed in Toronto such as: Christie Pits, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Varsity Arena, and Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto is also the location of the Canadian Football League's headquarters.
The 1984–85 OHL season was the fifth season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were undefeated in all 33 home games during the regular season. The Brantford Alexanders move back to Hamilton becoming the Hamilton Steelhawks. Fifteen teams each played 66 games. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Peterborough Petes.
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its history to reach its current thirty-two teams: twenty-five in the United States, and seven in Canada. The newest additions to the league are the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021. The league has also relocated several franchises, most recently in 2011 when the former Atlanta Thrashers became the second and current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.
There are professional teams based in Canada in several professional sports leagues. The National Hockey League currently has seven Canadian franchises and is the most popular professional sports league in Canada. The Canadian Football League is the only all-Canadian major professional sports league. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, and the Professional Women's Hockey League also have Canadian teams.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
