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Memorial Stadium was a 4,190-seat multi-purpose arena, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. St. John's previous indoor arena, Prince's Rink, burned down in November 1941, but the demands of the Second World War prevented the city from replacing it until well after the war ended. In 1948, a Citizens' Committee was established to raise funds to build a new arena to be named in honour of Newfoundlanders who died in that war. Fundraising went slowly until in 1954, St. John's City Council floated a bond to finance the facility, which then became property of the city. It officially opened in 1955.[1]
 | |
| Location | 20 Lake Avenue, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada |
|---|---|
| Owner | City of St. John's |
| Capacity | Hockey: 4,190 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1952 |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Closed | 2001 |
| Demolished | 2006 (interior only) |
| Construction cost | $7,000,000 |
| Tenants | |
| St. John's Maple Leafs (AHL) (1991–2000) | |
It is the former home of the St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League (1991–2001). The arena played host to many events, such as an exhibition game featuring the local senior hockey team, the St. John's Caps and the Soviet Red Army. It also played host to two NBA exhibition games and musical acts, as well as Pope John Paul II. Wooden bleachers were used throughout the building's earlier life, and plastic seats were installed later, towards the beginning of the arena’s AHL tenure. Memorial Stadium closed in 2001, replaced by Mary Brown’s Centre.
Dominion Memorial Market
editThe interior structure of the building was later torn down, and in July 2006, after much controversy,[2] construction started on a new Dominion supermarket. Coincidentally, the parent company of Dominion in Newfoundland, Loblaw Companies, converted part of Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the former stadium of the Maple Leafs' parent club, to a Loblaws supermarket; both projects were approved despite grassroots protests.
On September 21, 2007 Mayor Andy Wells cut the ribbon opening Dominion Memorial Market. The converted stadium features underground parking, escalators, and shopping cart conveyors. The store also retains the scoreboard from the stadium's days as a hockey arena.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Baker, Melvin. "A History of St. John's City Council, 1888 to 1981". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 2 (1984). Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ Steve Bartlett (September 22, 2007). "Dominion Memorial gets mixed reaction". Western Star. Retrieved 23 April 2011.