Colisée de Québec

For other stadiums to which Pepsi owns naming rights, see Pepsi Arena (disambiguation).
Colisée de Québec

View of the Colisée Pepsi
Former names Colisée de Québec (1949-99)
Location ExpoCité
250 Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel, Quebec City, Quebec G1L 5A7
Coordinates 46°49′51″N 71°14′47″W / 46.83083°N 71.24639°W / 46.83083; -71.24639Coordinates: 46°49′51″N 71°14′47″W / 46.83083°N 71.24639°W / 46.83083; -71.24639
Owner Quebec City
Operator ExpoCité
Capacity 15,176
Surface Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground May 24, 1949[1]
Opened December 8, 1949[1]
Closed September 14, 2015
Construction cost C$3,000,000[2]
($31.3 million in 2016 dollars[3])
Architect Robert Blatter[4]
Bouchard & Rinfret
Tenants
Quebec Aces (QSHL / AHL) (1950–1971)
Quebec Nordiques (WHA / NHL) (1972–1995)
Quebec Rafales (IHL) (1996–1998)
Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1969–1985, 1999–2015)
Quebec Radio X (LNAH) (2003–2008)
Quebec Citadelles (AHL) (1999–2002)

Colisée de Québec (later known as Colisée Pepsi) was a multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec.[5]

It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, and was also the home of the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL from 1999 to 2015.

The Colisée would host the Québec International Peewee Hockey Tournament annually in February, with almost 2,300 young hockey players from 16 countries participating.

History

The barrel vault arena was originally built in 1949, seating 10,034, to replace a building on the same site that had burned down a year earlier. Built by architects Rinfret and Bouchard with directions from Robert Blatter and F. Caron, the arena was a mix of International Style exterior and Art Deco interior.[6] 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.

Le Colisée underwent major renovations in 1980. The old entrance was taken down and replaced with a massive glass facade, and the seating capacity was increased 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 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 & 2015. 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 next to the existing facility. 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.

Former Nordiques owner and Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut originally said that there were no plans to demolish the Colisée Pepsi even if a new arena was built. Aubut mentioned a prospective future Winter Olympics bid among other justifications for maintaining the existing arena.[7] As part of the agreement constructing the new arena, an additional C$7 million was set aside for renovating the Colisée, should the city have landed a potential National Hockey League expansion franchise before the new arena was completed in 2015.[8] The New Videotron Centre was opened on September 8, 2015. After a Metallica concert on September 14, 2015, the Colisée got into a dormant phase. The Colisée will eventually be demolished within a few years.[9]

Seating capacity

The seating capacity for hockey has gone as followed:

Image gallery

References

  1. 1 2 "Histoire et Sociiété: Le Colisée de Québec, 1949 à aujourd'hui". Histoire et Sociiété. October 9, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ↑ Halpin, Charlie (December 13, 1949). "New $3,000,000 Quebec Coliseum to Be Opened on Thursday Night". Montreal Gazette. p. 16. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada. "Consumer Price Index, historical summary". CANSIM, table (for fee) 326-0021 and Catalogue nos. 62-001-X, 62-010-X and 62-557-X. And Consumer Price Index, by province (monthly) (Canada) Last modified 2015-09-08. Retrieved September 22, 2015
  4. ↑ LaFerrière, Michèle (January 11, 2008). "La Révolution Blatter". La Presse (Montreal). Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ http://www.lifeinquebec.com/the-last-curtain-has-fallen-on-the-colisee-pepsi-10775/
  6. ↑ http://www.contact.ulaval.ca/article_blogue/ce-cher-bon-vieux-colisee/ (French)
  7. ↑ Brunt, Stephen (February 8, 2012). "Quebec Ready for Nordiques Return". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ White, Marianne (March 25, 2012). "New Quebec City Arena Gets the Green Light". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/dossiers/nouvel-amphitheatre/201509/13/01-4900136-apres-metallica-le-colisee-pepsi-entre-en-dormance.php
  10. ↑ Mccarthy, Gary (February 7, 1970). "Quebec Peewee Hockey 'Dream' Now Reality". Montreal Gazette. p. 13. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ The Canadian Press (December 8, 1973). "Soviets Beat Quebec". Leader-Post (Regina). p. 23. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  12. ↑ The Canadian Press (June 25, 1977). "Expansion, Merger, Accommodation–Whatever". Calgary Herald. p. 41. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  13. ↑ Wevurski, Pete (November 24, 1981). "Dion Has a Special Goal in Return to Quebec". Pittsburgh Press. p. C–4. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  14. ↑ The Canadian Press (December 11, 1986). "If You Want to Rendez-vous, You'd Better Have a Ticket". Montreal Gazette. p. D–3. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  15. ↑ Lapointe, Joe (February 26, 1995). "On Pro Hockey; In Quebec, Sale Rumors and an Arena Agenda". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  16. ↑ Hickey, Pat (January 4, 2012). "Canadian Teams Rake in Cash". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 18, 2013.

External links

Preceded by
first arena		 Home of the
Quebec Nordiques
1972–1995 		Succeeded by
McNichols Sports Arena (as Colorado Avalanche)
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