Northlands Coliseum

Northlands Coliseum
"The House That Gretzky Built"
	Exterior view of Northlands Coliseum (c.2010)
Former names	Northlands Coliseum (1974–1995, 2016–2017); Edmonton Coliseum (1995–1998); Skyreach Centre (1998–2003); Rexall Place (2003–2016)
Address	7424 118 Avenue
Location	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Public transit	Coliseum station
Owner	Northlands (1974–2017); City of Edmonton (2018–)
Capacity	Hockey: 17,100; Concerts: 13,000 (approx)
Field size	46,240 m2 (497,700 sq ft)
Construction
Broke ground	November 3, 1972
Opened	November 10, 1974
Renovated	1994, 2001, 2007
Closed	January 1, 2018
Construction cost	C$17.3 million; ($104 million in 2023 dollars); ; Renovations:; 1994: $14 million; ($25.7 million in 2023 dollars; 2001: $10 million; ($16.1 million in 2023 dollars; 2007: $3.5 million; ($4.93 million in 2023 dollars; ; Total cost:; $135.5 million in 2021 dollars
Architect	Phillips, Barrett, Hillier, Jones Partners; Wynn, Forbes, Lord, Feldberg & Schmidt
Structural engineer	Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
General contractor	Batoni Bowlen Enterprises
Main contractors	SE Johnson Ltd. (mechanical)
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

53°34′17″N 113°27′22″W / 53.57139°N 113.45611°W / 53.57139; -113.45611

Northlands Coliseum is a defunct indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The arena opened in 1974, and was later known as Edmonton Coliseum, Skyreach Centre, and Rexall Place, before returning to the Northlands Coliseum name in summer 2016.

The arena hosted the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup hockey tournaments, the 1978 Commonwealth Games, seven Stanley Cup finals (Oilers losses in 1983 and 2006, and Oilers victories in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990), many other hockey events, along with other sporting events and major concerts.

The final NHL game played at the arena was on April 6, 2016. The building closed on New Year's Day 2018, after ownership of the facility was transferred from Northlands to the City of Edmonton. Northlands had planned to re-develop the arena into a multi-level ice facility, but these plans were scrapped after it was found that renovating the facility would be more costly than building a new one altogether.^[11]

The venue is now in the process of being dismantled, which is expected to take an extended period of time due to the presence of hazardous substances such as lead and asbestos. Final demolition of the building is not expected to be completed until 2025 at the earliest.

^ Bennett, Dean (13 September 2017). "Northlands Coliseum, the house that Gretzky built, is closing its doors". The Globe and Mail.
^ Markusoff, Jason (March 25, 2008). "Door Not Quite Shut on Provincial Aid". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
^ Marquette University Law School's NHL Arenas Finances
^ "Edmonton Oilers, Rexall Place". Design Intelligence. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
^ Association of Consulting Engineering Companies^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Initial Bids For Coliseum Announced". Edmonton Journal. March 10, 1973. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^ SE Johnson
^ "Rexall Place". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
^ 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.
^ Osman, Laura (February 17, 2016). "Northlands hopes to reinvent itself with $165M in renovations". CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News Edmonton. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

[1] Bennett, Dean (13 September 2017). "Northlands Coliseum, the house that Gretzky built, is closing its doors". The Globe and Mail.

[2] Markusoff, Jason (March 25, 2008). "Door Not Quite Shut on Provincial Aid". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2009.

[inflation-CA-3] 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-05-08.

[4] Marquette University Law School's NHL Arenas Finances

[5] "Edmonton Oilers, Rexall Place". Design Intelligence. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

[6] Association of Consulting Engineering Companies^{[permanent dead link]}

[7] "Initial Bids For Coliseum Announced". Edmonton Journal. March 10, 1973. Retrieved March 7, 2012.

[8] SE Johnson

[9] "Rexall Place". Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2019.

[10] 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.

[Redev-11] Osman, Laura (February 17, 2016). "Northlands hopes to reinvent itself with $165M in renovations". CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News Edmonton. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

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Construction
"The House That Gretzky Built" ^[1]

Exterior view of Northlands Coliseum (c.2010)

Former names	Northlands Coliseum (1974–1995, 2016–2017) Edmonton Coliseum (1995–1998) Skyreach Centre (1998–2003) Rexall Place (2003–2016)
Address	7424 118 Avenue
Location	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Public transit	Coliseum station
Owner	Northlands (1974–2017) City of Edmonton (2018–)
Capacity	Hockey: 17,100 Concerts: 13,000 (approx)^[9]
Field size	46,240 m² (497,700 sq ft)^[10]
Broke ground	November 3, 1972
Opened	November 10, 1974
Renovated	1994, 2001, 2007
Closed	January 1, 2018
Construction cost	C$17.3 million^[2] ($104 million in 2023 dollars^[3]) Renovations: 1994: $14 million ($25.7 million in 2023 dollars^[3] 2001: $10 million^[4] ($16.1 million in 2023 dollars^[3] 2007: $3.5 million ($4.93 million in 2023 dollars^[3] Total cost: $135.5 million in 2021 dollars
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