Copps Coliseum

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Copps Coliseum

Copps Coliseum is a sports and entertainment arena with a capacity of up to 19,000 (depending on event type and configuration) on the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario. It is named after the former Hamilton mayor, Victor K. Copps.

Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1985 at a cost of $33.5 million, and an addition $2.3 million for a parking garage. The construction was overseen by local Hamiltonian, Joseph Pigott. ^[1]

The scoreboard clock was originally from the Winnipeg Arena, purchased for $214,000. Although it was not brand new, the scoreboard clock would meet the needs of Copps Coliseum.

Copps Coliseum was built in the hope that Hamilton could draw an NHL franchise, something that has not materialized yet.

In 1987, the arena hosted the Canada Cup ice hockey tournament and was the site of Mario Lemieux's famous goal that beat the Soviets 6-5. It hosted the Canada Cup tournament again in 1991 when Team Canada defeated Team USA. It also attracted the WWF Royal Rumble in 1988 and Breakdown: In Your House pay-per-view in 1998.

In 1990 Copps Coliseum hosted the Memorial Cup. The tournament that year set the highest attendance record for any single Memorial Cup game, on May 13, 1990 at 17,383 spectators. In that same championship game, the Oshawa Generals defeated the Kitchener Rangers by a score of 4 to 3 in double overtime on a goal by Bill Armstrong.

In 2007, from March 3 to March 11, Copps Coliseum hosted the Tim Hortons Brier, the annual Canadian men's curling championship. The coliseum will be hosting the West 49 Canadian Open, from September 20 to October 1.

The arena's primary tenant today is the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs. Previous Ontario Hockey League tenants include the Hamilton Steelhawks (1985-1988) and Dukes of Hamilton (1989-1991). The previous AHL tenant was the Hamilton Canucks who played from 1992-94.

[edit] References

^ Hamilton Spectator: "The Greatest Hamiltonian". (II). Retrieved on February 11, 2007.

[edit] External links

Current arenas in the American Hockey League
Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Arena at Harbor Yard \| Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena \| Cumberland County Civic Center \| DCU Center \| Dunkin' Donuts Center \| GIANT Center \| Hartford Civic Center \| MassMutual Center \| Norfolk Scope \| Times Union Center \| Tsongas Arena \| Verizon Wireless Arena \| Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza \| Wachovia Spectrum		Allstate Arena \| AT&T Center \| Blue Cross Arena \| Bradley Center \| Carver Arena \| Copps Coliseum \| MTS Centre \| Omaha Civic Auditorium \| Ricoh Coliseum \| Toyota Center \| Van Andel Arena \| War Memorial at Oncenter \| Wells Fargo Arena