| Colisée Pepsi | |
|---|---|
| Former names | Colisée de Québec |
| Location | ExpoCité 250 boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel, Quebec City, Quebec G1L 5A7 |
| Opened | 1949 |
| Owner | Quebec City |
| Capacity | 15,176 |
| Tenants | |
| Quebec Aces (QHL) / (AHL) (1950-1971) Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) (5 games in 1968)[1] Quebec Nordiques (WHA) / (NHL) (1972-1995) Quebec Rafales (IHL) (1996-1997) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1969-1985) Quebec Radio X (LNAH) (2004-2007) Quebec Citadelles (AHL) (1999-2002) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1999-present) |
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Colisée Pepsi (English: Pepsi Coliseum), formerly the Colisée de Québec (English: The Quebec Coliseum), is a multi-purpose arena in Quebec City, Quebec.
It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972–1995, and is currently the home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). On February 25-26, 2012, the Quebec Kebs of the National Basketball League of Canada will play their final two home games of the regular season at the Colisée.
The Colisée hosts the Québec International Peewee Hockey Tournament annually in February, with almost 2300 young hockey players from 16 countries participating.
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The arena was originally built in 1949, seating 10,004, to replace a building on the same site that had burned down a year earlier. It was known as "The House that Béliveau Built", as it was often filled to capacity in its earlier years to watch Jean Béliveau star for the Quebec Aces before moving to the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens. Two decades later, sellout crowds came to see Guy Lafleur as a member of the Quebec Remparts before, he too, would join the Canadiens.
The building went under major renovations in 1980, raising capacity to 15,750, to meet NHL standards of that era after the Nordiques made the jump from the WHA to the NHL. PepsiCo bought the naming rights on November 18,1999, and current capacity is 15,176. Coincidentally, the former Quebec Nordiques, now known as the Colorado Avalanche, currently play at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
The arena hosted the 1971 Memorial Cup championship series, in which the Remparts defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings two games to none. Since the championship switched to a tournament format, the Coliseum has hosted it in 1991 and 2003. Internationally, the first game of the 1974 Summit Series between Canadian WHA all-stars and the Soviet national team was played at the Coliseum, as were one game in each of the 1976 and 1991 Canada Cups. The arena co-hosted the 1978 IIHF World U20 Championship with Montreal and also co-hosted, along with Halifax, the 2008 IIHF World Championships. Rendez-vous '87, a two game series between the NHL All-Stars and the Soviet national team, was another highlight in the building's history. Colisée Pepsi has also hosted many big concerts.
Quebec City has entertained several proposals in recent years to return NHL ice hockey to the city; most of these proposals envision using the Colisée as a temporary home while a new NHL-ready arena is built. On October 10, 2009 Quebec city newspapers such as Le Soleil reported that negotiations were held between the city and the NHL concerning the possibility and pertinence of relocating or creating an NHL franchise into the city. On October 16, 2009 Quebec City's mayor, Regis Labeaume, revealed that the firm SNC Lavalin had been hired in order to set up a feasibility study for a new arena. It is usually agreed that such a project would cost about CDN $400 million dollars and according to recent developments, Labeaume claimed that Quebec City's office would contribute CDN $50 million, provided that both the Canadian and Quebec governments would each invest CDN $175 million.[2]
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Quebec Nordiques 1972–1995 |
Succeeded by McNichols Sports Arena (as Colorado Avalanche) |
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