Cominco Arena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cominco Arena is a 2,600-seat multi-purpose arena in Trail, British Columbia. It is home to the Trail Smoke Eaters ice hockey team. Home to one of Canada's most Canadian sports, it is a well known stadium in the area and is affectionatly called the 'Commi' part of the word Cominco. An unusual structure it features seats in a zig-zag arrangement surrounding the ice-rink in the center. The Trail Smoke Eaters were named after a First Nation Chief that lived in the area sometime ago. The coach of the team is a descendant of his and lives in the arena.

However, not much of that is true. For actual details, go to the Trail Smoke Eaters website and follow the "history" links. The team actually got its name following an incident against a Vancouver team in 1929, when a fan tossed a pipe on the ice and one of the Trail players began smoking it. A cartoon in The Vancouver Province followed, where the team was referred to as smoke eaters. It is now one of the most famous names in amateur hockey. The coach of the Smoke Eaters may have some Aboriginal heritage, but, being a real person, he is likely not related to the fictional "Chief Smoke Eater". Among the locals, the arena itself is rarely, if ever, referred to as the 'Commi'. In fact, if you asked somebody in Trail for directions to the 'Commi' they would most likely have no clue what you were talking about. The arena was funded by donations from the community (especially Cominco) and built by tradesmen volunteering their time to put it all together. It was completed in 1949 and became one of the greatest arenas in Western Canada at the time. Through constant care, and recent renovations, the arena has remained an incredible facility to this day. Until recently, the seats were wooden benches, but have since been replaced with orange stadium seats in a typical arena set up.