Rexall Place

Rexall Place is an indoor arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada situated on the north side of Northlands. It is currently the home to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League and the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. Though it is one of the oldest venues in the NHL, it has been consistently renovated to keep the facilities up to date.

History

When the arena opened on November 10, 1974, it was known as Northlands Coliseum to house the World Hockey Association Oilers, named after the nonprofit organization that still owns the arena today. Then it became the Edmonton Coliseum in 1994, and Skyreach Centre in 1998^[4], before it changed to its current name during the middle of the 2003–04 NHL season when its naming rights were purchased by the Rexall medicine company, a subsidiary of Katz Group Canada^[5]; incidentally, the Katz Group now owns the Oilers and the Oil Kings through a subsidiary.

The arena was used to host games in the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup hockey tournaments, including Game 2 of the 1984 finals between Canada and Sweden. In the 1995 World Junior Championships, which were held in various cities and towns throughout Alberta, Edmonton Coliseum was the site of several games, including Canada's 6–3 victory over Finland on New Year's Day. The stadium was one of the venues for the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

The venue was the site of several Commonwealth Games sports in 1978, and part of Universiade (the World University Games) in 1983. It also hosted the World Wrestling Entertainment 2004 Backlash pay per view, and the CHL Top Prospects Game in 2008.^[6] Annual events include the Canadian Finals Rodeo and the Christian Conference, YC Alberta.

Before the 2007/08 season started, the Oilers dressing room was renovated for $3.5 million. The state-of-art room is now wider with a new medical room, lounge, bar, video room, weight room as well as other new facilities. Just after the entrance to the dressing room is a cubicle with 5 replica Stanley Cups in it that has all the names of the past Oilers who won cups with the team. Next to the 5 replicas is an empty space symbolizing that there is always room for another.^[7]

Arena information

The official capacity for hockey is currently 16,839, which is slightly less than the 17,100 the arena held before the 2001–02 NHL season. When it opened, the capacity was 15,423, but it was increased to 17,353 after the Oilers joined the NHL by adding an extra tier of seating on the side opposite the pressbox. This was increased to 17,503 in 1984. The arena underwent an extensive renovation in 1994 in which the seating capacity was reduced to make way for fifty-two luxury suites. Fifteen more suites were added in 2001. The arena can also be noisy, as noise levels have reached 119 dB during playoff games.^[8]

Future

A new arena has been proposed by the Katz Group to host the Edmonton Oilers games thus replacing Rexall Place. If built, the new arena would be located in Downtown Edmonton in the so called Edmonton Arena District.^[9]

Notable events

• Gymnastics in the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
• The 1981 Canada Cup, along with three other venues in Canada.
• The 1984 Canada Cup, along with six other venues in Canada.
• The 1989 National Hockey League All-Star Game.
• The 1995 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, along with 12 other venues in Alberta.
• The 1999, 2005, and 2013 Tim Hortons Briers.
• Toronto Raptors preseason games in 1999 and 2008^[10]
• The 2004 Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced by World Wrestling Entertainment.
• The 2007 Ford World Men's Curling Championship.
• The 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game.
• The 2008 National Lacrosse League All Star Game.
• The 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.
• The 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (in December 2011), along with the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Live recordings

The following bands recorded live performances in the arena:

• Dottie West recorded her 1983 Showtime special Dottie West: Full Circle with the Alberta Orchestra at the arena, which also featured Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers, John Schneider, David Frizzell and Shelly West.
• Yes filmed their 1984 concert film 9012Live at the arena.
• Nickelback filmed their 2002 concert video Live at Home at the arena.
• Our Lady Peace recorded part of their 2003 record Live at the arena.
• Michael W. Smith recorded his live "Worship" DVD at YC Alberta.
• Corb Lund recorded his 2007 concert on video during the course of the Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! tour.
• Thousand Foot Krutch filmed their concert at YC Alberta on May 28, 2010 at the arena. A live CD and DVD of the show is planned for a June 7, 2011 release.

References

External links

• Rexall Place official website
• Rexall Place at Hockeyarenas.net