The Oshawa Civic Auditorium
is a 3,625–seat (4,025 standing) multi-purpose arena in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1964, and was home to the Oshawa Generals ice hockey team of the Ontario Hockey League from December 1964 to October 2006. The arena is part of a larger recreational complex still in use, although the arena itself is no longer used for ice hockey. The complex is located at 99 Thornton Road South in the city's west end, with close proximity to Highway 401.
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OSHAWA CIVIC AUDITORIUM TICKETS
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History
The arena was built as a replacement home for the Oshawa Generals, when the
Hambly Arena burned down on
September 15,
1953. The Generals resumed play in
1962–63 as part of the
Metro Junior A League playing out of
Maple Leaf Gardens, then returned to the Ontario Hockey League for the
1963-64 season sponsored by the
Boston Bruins. The team played in nearby
Bowmanville, Ontario for one season until construction on the new arena was finished. The Generals also won the first game played at the Civic on
December 15,
1964, a 6-4 win over the
St. Catharines Black Hawks.
Bobby Orr, aged 16 at the time, scored in that first game.
On
April 22 1979, the Auditorium hosted a
benefit concert for the
CNIB by the
Rolling Stones, after
Keith Richards was charged with possession of heroin. In May
2006,
Alice Cooper appeared in concert at the Auditorium, one of the final acts to appear.
The Civic hosted the
1987 Memorial Cup tournament for the
Canadian Hockey League championship. Oshawa competed against the
Longueuil Chevaliers and the
Memorial Cup champions the
Medicine Hat Tigers.
In June 2005, construction began on a replacement arena in downtown Oshawa, the
General Motors Centre. The last Generals game in the Civic was held October 29, 2006, versus the
Kingston Frontenacs, in which the Generals won 8-6.
Championship teams
The Oshawa Generals won five
J. Ross Robertson Cups as OHL champions during their tenure at the Civic; in
1966,
1983,
1987,
1990, and
1997. Oshawa also won
1990 Memorial Cup.
The
Oshawa Legionaires, another junior team from the
Metro Jr B League won three regular season titles. The first in 1975–76, then two more in
1977–78, and
1978–79, led by the coaching of
Mike Keenan, and the playing of
Dale Hawerchuk.
The
Oshawa Green Gaels of the
OLA Junior A Lacrosse League were a championship junior
lacrosse team who moved into the Civic partway through their seven consecutive
Minto Cups from 1963 to 1969.