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

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History

Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1985 at a cost of $33.5 million, and an additional $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 met the needs of Copps Coliseum.

While Copps Coliseum was built in the hope that Hamilton could draw an NHL franchise, for the past 12 seasons, beginning in October 1996, Copps Coliseum has been home to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League. The Bulldogs, the top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers (1996-2002) and the Montreal Canadiens (2002-Present) have brought over 2 million fans to Copps Coliseum, and are the longest serving pro hockey team in Southern Ontario, aside from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bulldogs are the sole primary tenant in the facility. On Thursday June 7th, 2007 The Hamilton Bulldogs won their first Calder Cup Championship in franchise history at home in Copps Coliseum by defeating the Hershey Bears.

In 1986, the World Junior Hockey Championships were staged at Copps Coliseum. In the decisive game, the Soviet Union defeated Canada 4-1.

In 1987, the arena was the primary host for the Canada Cup ice hockey tournament and was the site of Mario Lemieux's famous goal that beat the Soviets 6-5 in the decisive game. It hosted a number of games in the Canada Cup again in 1991 when Canada defeated USA in the finals.

On January 24, 1988, the arena hosted the World Wrestling Federation's first ever Royal Rumble. The Rumble was won by Jim Duggan.

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.

Though the Coliseum has never been able to attract a full-time NHL tenant, it did host a number of regular-season neutral-site games in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Most of these games featured either the nearby Toronto Maple Leafs or Buffalo Sabres.

In 1994, the Coliseum was one of the homes to the FIBA World Basketball Championships, along with Maple Leaf Gardens and SkyDome. The Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association played a few home games at the Coliseum in the late 1990s.

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.

In 2007, Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research in Motion, made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators for $220 Million US. His intention was to move the team to Hamilton and play in Copps Coliseum. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

Images

References

1. Hamilton Spectator: "The Greatest Hamiltonian". (II)