Fort William Gardens

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Fort William Gardens

Location	901 Miles Street Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7C 1J9
Broke ground	1952
Opened	1953(?)
Owner	The City of Thunder Bay
Tenants
Lakehead Thunderwolves (Hockey)(2001-Present) Fort William North Stars (Hockey)(2005-Present) Fort William Figure Skating Club
Capacity
Fixed Arena Seating 3,371 Total Capacity 4690 Concerts 4200 Basketball 4200 Boxing 4200 Ice events 3630

The Fort William Gardens is a 4,690-capacity (3,371-seat) multi-purpose arena in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1952 and is home to the Lakehead Thunderwolves ice hockey team.

Previous tenants include the Thunder Bay Flyers of the 'Junior A' United States Hockey League, the Thunder Bay Senators / Thunder Bay Thunder Cats of the Colonial Hockey League (which became the United Hockey League), and the Thunder Bay Twins (senior men's hockey). Since 2001 the Gardens has been home to the Lakehead Thunderwolves men's university hockey program and has also played host to a Superior International Junior Hockey League team. The Thunder Bay Bulldogs called the Gardens home from 2001 to 2005, then were replaced by the Fort William North Stars.

[edit] History

The Gardens has a long history of hockey, however, the isolation of Thunder Bay and travel costs have prevented the Gardens from retaining most teams. It once hosted two pre-season AHL games between the St. John's Maple Leafs and Manitoba Moose.

The Gardens played host to the 1967 Memorial Cup series in which the Toronto Marlboros defeated the Port Arthur Marrs for the national junior hockey championship.

The Gardens has also hosted several national curling championships:

Tim Hortons Brier in 1960.
Women's Canadian Junior Curling Championships in 1976.
Scott Tournament of Hearts in 1996.
Men's & Women's Canadian Junior Curling Championships in 2006.

The Gardens has also been home to some of the larger indoor concerts in Thunder Bay due to its capacity, including bands such as: Our Lady Peace, Nickelback, Pearl Jam, The Tragically Hip and R.E.M. It has also been used for Remembrance Day Ceremonies, festivals, circuses, and many other events.

The Fort William Gardens was completely renovated in 1995.

[edit] Future

The future of the Gardens is uncertain. Most concerts are now performed at the more intimate, Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, which seats approximately 1,500. Lakehead University has proposed working with the city to build a new, larger arena and convention centre to replace the Gardens. City council has agreed for the need for such an arena, but believes that the Gardens is still in usable condition. City council turned down the most recent proposal in October 2006. In February 2007, city council decided to lease a new boiler for the facility, holding off a decision to purchase a new one in the event that a replacement is successfully approved.[1]