89-701: Pacific Coliseum , locally known as The Coliseum or the Rink on Renfrew , is an indoor arena located at Hastings Park in Vancouver , British Columbia . Its main use has been for ice hockey and the arena has been the home for several ice hockey teams. The arena was the home of the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL), from 2001 to 2016. Other hockey tenants of the Pacific Coliseum have been
178-483: A DVD , in 2006. MC Hammer performed on December 15, 1990, as part of his Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour . American band Pearl Jam played at the arena on September 25, 2011, as part of the band's 20th anniversary celebrations . Alexisonfire played in the Coliseum on December 17, 2012, for their farewell tour . On April 30, 2022, Indian singer Babbu Maan became the first South Asian artist to sell out
267-496: A Stanley Cup dynasty, winning five Cups in its first eleven seasons. The Jets of the 1980s, decimated by the dispersal draft, developed a solid nucleus of players that helped the club achieve respectable regular-season finishes. After missing the playoffs in their first NHL season, the Nordiques quickly became competitive, advancing as far as the third round of the playoffs in their third season. Quebec developed an intense rivalry with
356-653: A 1977 plan to merge six WHA teams (the Edmonton Oilers , New England Whalers , Quebec Nordiques , Cincinnati Stingers , Houston Aeros , and Winnipeg Jets ) into the NHL before a 1979 merger was approved. The final WHA game was played on May 20, 1979, as the Jets defeated the Oilers to win their third Avco World Trophy . As a result, the WHA ceased operations, and four teams joined the NHL for
445-403: A facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of the larger arenas hold more spectators than do
534-535: A five-year, one million dollar contract with a one million dollar signing bonus. Hull accepted the Jets' offer, sealing the deal in an elaborate signing ceremony at Portage and Main . Hull's move to the upstart league attracted a few other top stars such as Cheevers, Sanderson, and Tremblay. The WHA officially made its debut on October 11, 1972 , at the Ottawa Civic Centre , when the Alberta Oilers defeated
623-500: A lengthy prison term for fraud and tax evasion and was unable to intervene; but by the time the Toros played their first game, Ballard had been paroled and had regained control of the Gardens. Much to Bassett's outrage, the arena was dim for the first game. Ballard also ordered the cushions from the home bench removed for Toros' games (he told an arena worker, "Let 'em buy their own cushions!"). It
712-474: A linesman for the WHA and retired at the end of the 2008–09 NHL season . The WHA instituted sudden death overtime for regular season games to break ties. If no team scored during a 10-minute overtime period, the game ended in a tie. In the 1983–84 season, the NHL then instituted a 5-minute sudden death overtime period to break regular season ties. The WHA had experimented with blue colored pucks, which were supposedly easier for fans to see. The NHL did not adopt
801-468: A location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association ( French : Association mondiale de hockey ) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979 . It
890-449: A major league, and stayed away from Spurs games. However, halfway through the season, the NHL's Kansas City Scouts began serious talks about moving to Denver. Knowing he could not even begin to compete with an NHL team, Mullenix began talks with a group of Ottawa businessmen who insisted the Spurs move immediately as a condition of further talks. As a result, the Spurs abruptly moved to become
979-626: A merger, or he would attempt to purchase an existing club and relocate it to Houston. Neither came to fruition, and as a result the Aeros elected to fold on July 6, 1978. Another proposal had the Edmonton Oilers and the New England Whalers moving to the NHL, with the Winnipeg Jets following a year later, but this was also not accepted by the NHL. The final two seasons of the WHA saw the debut of many superstars, some of whom became hockey legends in
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#17328554259681068-472: A series of audiences or mulaqats to the Ismaili community of British Columbia . Indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena
1157-541: A two-year retirement for the chance to play alongside his sons, Mark and Marty , who opted to turn pro a year ahead of their NHL draft eligibility. In the 1974–75 season , to broaden a depleted talent pool, the WHA began signing European players, which the NHL had largely ignored up to that time, in serious numbers, including stars such as Swedish Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson and Czech center Vaclav Nedomansky , who had just defected from Czechoslovakia . Winnipeg especially loaded up with Scandinavian players and became
1246-455: A video display on each side. Recent renovations were completed in 2007 to upgrade accessibility , seating, HVAC , and ice surface for its use as a venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics . During the renovations prior to the Olympics major upgrades were done to the ice plant at Pacific Coliseum. The adjacent Agrodome ice plant was decommissioned and both buildings now share the same system located at
1335-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
1424-534: Is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as the Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such
1513-575: The 1974 Summit Series against the Soviets, giving an opportunity for Hull and 46-year-old Gordie Howe to play for Canada against the Soviet team, which the Soviets won 4-1-3. In the 1976 Canada Cup , the NHL and NHLPA broadened the scope of the competition, inviting to the tournament a number of hockey countries and allowing each invited country to send the best possible team they could muster, so this time WHA players were permitted. WHA players played on four of
1602-613: The 1979–80 season : the Edmonton Oilers, New England (renamed Hartford) Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. Of these four teams, two of the three Canadian teams — the Nordiques and Jets — eventually moved south to Denver and Phoenix , respectively. The Arizona Coyotes suspended operations following the 2023–24 season with the team's hockey assets being sold to the expansion Utah Hockey Club . The Whalers later moved from Hartford to Raleigh, North Carolina , and were renamed
1691-690: The Carolina Hurricanes . The Oilers are the only WHA merger team to retain both their original nickname and city. The World Hockey Association was founded in 1971 by American promoters Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson . The men had previously been the founder and first president of the American Basketball Association , respectively. They quickly recruited Bill Hunter , president of the junior Western Canada Hockey League . Hunter and Murphy traveled across North America recruiting franchise owners, and by September 1971, had announced that
1780-700: The Colorado Avalanche , where they have won the Stanley Cup three times (1996, 2001, 2022), the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Phoenix Coyotes , and the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina in 1997 and became the Carolina Hurricanes , where they have won the Stanley Cup in 2006. To date, the Oilers remain as the last ex-WHA team still in its original city, where they have won
1869-642: The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3–1 in the Canucks' NHL debut. The Kings' Bob Berry scored the first goal, with Barry Wilkins scoring the first goal for the Canucks. Its final NHL game was played May 27, 1995, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Canucks 4–3 to sweep them out of the 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the second round. The 25-year tenure of the Canucks would see
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#17328554259681958-709: The Montreal Canadiens . The Whalers had similar rivalries with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers , and skated to the 1986–87 Adams Division title. In the 1990s, the former WHA clubs suffered from escalating player salaries (ironically, the same trend that was instigated by the WHA). The ex-WHA clubs based in Canada were also hit hard by the declining value of the Canadian dollar . The Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 and became
2047-595: The NHL's competitive equals, winning more games than they lost in interleague exhibition games. The WHA had many lasting effects on NHL hockey. The NHL used to recruit virtually all its players from Canada, but following the success of the Jets' Hedberg and Nilsson, scouts began looking overseas for the best players that Europe could offer. Teams such as the Whalers and Fighting Saints offered excellent opportunities for young American players, and several U.S.-born or -raised NHL stars of
2136-569: The Ottawa 67's , 6–5. Smyl would eventually have a successful thirteen-year NHL career playing with the Vancouver Canucks at the arena, eventually having his #12 retired by the team on November 3, 1991; the first number that the team would retire, and the only one retired by the Canucks during their time at the Coliseum. After the departure of the Canucks in 1995, hockey returned to the Rink on Renfrew with
2225-684: The Ottawa Civics while on a road trip. After only seven games as the Civics, the franchise folded when it became clear that the Ottawa group did not have nearly enough financing to buy the team. The Spurs/Civics franchise only played 41 games total, making them easily the shortest-lived franchise in WHA history. The NHL soon fulfilled its promise to Denver by moving the Scouts there to become the Colorado Rockies in
2314-602: The Ottawa Nationals 7–4. Although the quality of hockey in the early years was predictably below that of the NHL, the WHA had indeed made stars out of many players that had little or no playing time in the NHL. The New England Whalers eventually won the WHA's inaugural championship, later renamed the Avco World Trophy when the Avco Financial Services Corporation became its main sponsor. However,
2403-637: The Stanley Cup Finals come to the Coliseum twice; once in 1982 , where the New York Islanders would complete their sweep of the Canucks in Vancouver on May 16, 1982, and again in 1994 where they would lose to the New York Rangers in a seven-game thriller. Former owner Arthur Griffiths called the sixth game of the 1994 series, the only Stanley Cup Finals game that the Canucks would ever win at
2492-511: The Toronto Toros ' lease terms at Maple Leaf Gardens as difficult as possible after they moved from Ottawa. The Toros were owned by John F. Bassett, son of Canadian media mogul John Bassett . The older Bassett had formerly been part-owner of the Leafs with Ballard and Stafford Smythe before falling out with his two partners. At the time of the Toros' lease at Maple Leaf Gardens, Ballard was serving
2581-808: The Vancouver Canucks ( Western Hockey League ) from 1968 to 1970, Vancouver Canucks ( National Hockey League ) from 1970 to 1995, the Vancouver Nats (WHL) from 1972 to 1973, the Vancouver Blazers ( World Hockey Association ) from 1973 to 1975, and the Vancouver Voodoo ( Roller Hockey International ) from 1994 to 1995. It was completed in 1968 on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition . Its architect and plans were also used for Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum . Originally holding 15,038 for ice hockey , capacity has fluctuated slightly over
2670-469: The WHL 's Vancouver Canucks, the building was used to attract an NHL franchise in 1970 and a World Hockey Association franchise in 1973. The Coliseum underwent renovations and additions in the late 1970s, but its role as host of an NHL team and a main venue for events in Vancouver was lost with the construction and opening of General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena ) in 1995. The original centre-hung scoreclock
2759-495: The 1976 offseason. Part of the financial trouble was attributed to the high player salaries. For instance, the Philadelphia Blazers signed Derek Sanderson for $ 2.6 million, which surpassed that of Brazilian soccer star, Pelé , making him the highest-paid athlete in the world at the time. Unfortunately, his play did not live up to the expectations of his salary, and between an early-season injury, intemperate remarks to
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2848-481: The Coliseum for their own use from 1972 onwards. The Raiders were first forced to rent space at Madison Square Garden , where they were tenants to the Rangers. The situation rapidly became untenable, with an onerous lease and poor attendance, so the three original owners defaulted and the league ended up taking control of the team midway through the season. The Raiders were sold after their inaugural season. They were renamed
2937-663: The Coliseum hosted the Grateful Dead in an iconic set of performances featured in their album of live concerts, 'Pacific Northwest '73 - '74: Believe It If You Need It.' On November 2, 1974, George Harrison performed the first of a series of concerts that would form his infamous Dark Horse Tour. This tour marked not only the first North American Tour by a former- Beatle , but also Harrison's last tour for 17 years. On July 30, 1977 Emerson, Lake & Palmer played at Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, Canada during their Works Tour '77 The Bee Gees played here on July 15, 1979, during
3026-411: The Coliseum with his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience . On December 28, 1968, rock group Led Zeppelin opened for Vanilla Fudge . This would be the first of several concerts for the band at the Pacific Coliseum over the next decade. Led Zeppelin would go on to base several of their North American tour operations from Vancouver and the Pacific Coliseum in the early 1970s. Three Dog Night appeared at
3115-494: The Coliseum with opening act Hoyt Axton on January 24, 1970. On June 6, 1970 the Doors performed at the Coliseum with Albert King as part of their Roadhouse Blues Tour . The show was recorded and released as a live album Live in Vancouver 1970 . On Jun 25, 1971 the Yes performed their Yes Album Tour , one of two Canadian dates, at the Coliseum. There was only 3 concerts that year,
3204-608: The Coliseum, to be "The greatest game ever played at the Pacific Coliseum," and sent the entire city into a frenzy in its wake. The Coliseum would host a viewing of game 7, which the Canucks would lose by a goal, after Nathan LaFayette 's potential tying shot went off the post. Pacific Coliseum also played host to the 1977 NHL All-Star Game , which saw the Wales Conference All-Stars defeat the Campbell Conference All-Stars 4–3. The final NHL goal scored in
3293-659: The Coliseum. In early 2023 the Pacific Coliseum retired its scoreclock, donating it to the Sunshine Coast Junior Hockey Society in Gibson, British Columbia. Video screens were added to the north end of the arena and concourse walls. In June 2023 a $ 2.6 million lighting project installed LED lighting around the exterior walls of the venue, allowing the arena to light up with different colours to recognize different events, dates and occasions. The seating capacity for hockey has progressed as follows: The arena hosted
3382-772: The Dayton Arrows and the San Francisco Sharks , relocated before the first season began, becoming the Houston Aeros and Quebec Nordiques , respectively. The Calgary Broncos and the Miami Screaming Eagles, folded outright before the first puck dropped, being replaced by the Philadelphia Blazers and the Cleveland Crusaders . The New York Raiders , initially intended to be the WHA's flagship team, suffered from numerous problems. While they planned to play in
3471-604: The Giants were chosen to host the 2007 Memorial Cup Tournament . During this tournament, the arena surpassed the all-time Memorial Cup attendance record; after seven round-robin games 91,808 attended, and the tournament would eventually finish with a total attendance of 121,461. In the same tournament, the Vancouver Giants won their first Memorial Cup championship, by defeating the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers , 3–1. The Giants had lost
3560-693: The Islanders, the WHA moved the Golden Blades to New Jersey soon after taking control. Renamed the Jersey Knights, they played at the Cherry Hill Arena which had a slope in the ice surface, causing pucks to shoot upward from results of a pass or shot, chain link fencing instead of Plexiglas surrounding the rink, and inadequate, cramped changing and dressing facilities. Ahead of the 1973–74 season, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard deliberately made
3649-544: The NHL in early 1979. Under the deal, four WHA clubs – the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers (renamed the Hartford Whalers), Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets – joined the NHL. The other two WHA teams, the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls , were paid $ 1.5 million apiece in compensation. The NHL treated the new clubs' arrival as an expansion, not a merger, and refused to recognize any WHA records. While
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3738-402: The NHL in the same way the Vancouver Canucks and California Golden Seals had in the preceding decade. When the NHL reneged on the agreement, and Spurs owner Ivan Mullenix was unable to negotiate an early entry into the NHL, he accepted an offer to join the WHA for the 1975–76 season. However, Denver residents felt betrayed after three years of hype for an NHL team. They did not consider the WHA
3827-438: The NHL, including Wayne Gretzky , Mark Messier , Mike Liut , and Mike Gartner . The Birmingham Bulls alone featured future NHLers Rick Vaive , Michel Goulet , Rob Ramage , Ken Linseman , Craig Hartsburg , Rod Langway , Mark Napier , Pat Riggin and Gaston Gingras . By the end of the final season, only six teams remained. Facing financial difficulty and unable to meet payrolls, the WHA finally came to an agreement with
3916-497: The NHL, preventing it from enforcing the reserve clause and freeing all players who had restraining orders against them, including Hull, to play with their WHA clubs. The decision effectively ended the NHL's monopoly on major league professional hockey talent. On November 1, 1971, twelve teams were formally announced. They included cities without NHL teams such as the Miami Screaming Eagles , as well as teams in cities where
4005-485: The National Hockey League were first initiated, with Houston, Cincinnati, Winnipeg, New England, Quebec, and Edmonton applying for entry to the NHL, who voted the proposal down. Merger discussions resumed in 1978, but Houston was not part of the proposal this time. During the final series of talks, Aeros owner Kenneth Schnitzer suggested to the NHL that either his team be admitted as an expansion team independent of
4094-464: The New York Golden Blades for the 1973–74 season, but were forced into a Sundays-only home schedule due to the high price of rent and scheduling conflicts with other events at Madison Square Garden. This was not enough to save the team, and the league was forced to take over the franchise again 24 games into the second season. Realizing that it could not hope to compete with both the Rangers and
4183-651: The Pacific Coliseum. The Coliseum was used for the Madison Square Garden scene in the movie Miracle as well as Slam Dunk Ernest . The dog show scenes from Best in Show were filmed at the Coliseum. The final shot of first look trailer for the Nintendo Switch was filmed here. The television show A Million Little Things has used the arena to film scenes that are taking place in TD Garden . The concert scene at
4272-538: The Screaming Eagles folded outright, replaced by the Philadelphia Blazers and the Cleveland Crusaders . Although the league had many players under contract by June 1972, including a few NHL stars such as Bernie Parent, many of them were career minor league and college players. The new league was not considered much of a threat, until Bobby Hull , arguably the NHL's top forward at the time, jumped over. Hull had not been thought to be seriously considering signing with
4361-700: The Soviets, did not permit WHA players, due to the decision of series organizer Alan Eagleson , an NHL agent who was influential in forming the Canadian team. Bobby Hull , one of the best WHA players, was ruled ineligible to play because of his defection from the NHL, despite being initially selected by coach Harry Sinden . Dennis Hull initially planned to boycott the event as well as a show of support for his older brother, but Bobby persuaded him to stay on Team Canada. Other WHA stars turned down included Gerry Cheevers , J.C. Tremblay and Derek Sanderson . Some NHL owners also threatened not to free their players to participate if WHA players were permitted. The WHA organized
4450-449: The Stanley Cup five times. Only the Jets (later the Arizona Coyotes) franchise never won the Cup, with their furthest advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs being the Western Conference Finals in 2012. List of WHA players and executives inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame : This is a list of the trophies and awards that were handed out annually by the World Hockey Association. Three Canadian teams completed all seven WHA seasons based in
4539-404: The WHA, even though he was in contentious salary negotiations with the Chicago Black Hawks , and when he told reporters that he would only move to the WHA "for a million dollars", it was both intended by Hull and taken by his audience to be a joke since a million dollars at that time was considered to be a ridiculous amount of money for a hockey player. Nevertheless, the Winnipeg Jets offered Hull
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#17328554259684628-434: The WHA, including Mark Howe , Wayne Gretzky , Mike Gartner , Mike Liut , and Mark Messier . Messier was the last WHA veteran to play in the NHL; he opened his professional career with 52 games with the Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers in 1978–79 , and played his last NHL game on April 3, 2004. The final active player and official in any on-ice capacity for the league was referee Don Koharski , who started as
4717-605: The WHL final in seven games to the Tigers earlier in the season. The 2020 Men's Volleyball North American Olympic Qualification Tournament took place at the coliseum. Canada went 3–0 in the tournament, which qualified the team for the 2020 Summer Olympics . This venue has hosted Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo II on May 1, 1972, and Michael Spinks vs Oscar Rivadeneyra on November 25, 1983. Pacific Coliseum has hosted two Billie Jean King Cup of Tennis qualifying matches. Canada versus Latvia in 2022 and Canada versus Belgium in 2023. On September 7, 1968 Jimi Hendrix performed at
4806-422: The Whalers and Oilers earning playoff berths. The Oilers chose to protect Wayne Gretzky in the dispersal draft, which would prove fortuitous. Gretzky and the Whalers' Gordie Howe were selected to the mid-season All-Star Game, respectively the second-youngest and the oldest ever to play in the match. The 1980s was a successful period for the former WHA teams. The Oilers shattered numerous NHL records and amassed
4895-427: The Whalers. Los Angeles and Vancouver feared losing home dates with NHL teams from the East. Montreal and Toronto were not enamored at the prospect of having to split revenue from Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts six ways rather than three. When a second vote was held in Chicago on March 22, 1979, Montreal and Vancouver changed their votes, allowing the deal to go forward. Vancouver and Los Angeles were won over by
4984-404: The arena belongs to the Chicago Blackhawks ' Chris Chelios , as the Blackhawks completed a four-game sweep of the Canucks in the 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs ' second round. Roman Oksiuta scored the Canucks' last goal in the building. Pacific Coliseum first hosted the Memorial Cup in 1977 , when Stan Smyl and the New Westminster Bruins won their first Memorial Cup championship by defeating
5073-409: The best players by paying more than NHL owners would. The WHA successfully challenged the NHL's reserve clause , which had bound players to their NHL teams even without a valid contract, allowing players in both leagues greater freedom of movement. Sixty-seven players jumped from the NHL to the WHA in the first year, led by star forward Bobby Hull , whose ten-year, $ 2.75 million contract was a record at
5162-427: The blue pucks, but any remaining blue WHA pucks are highly sought after collectors' items . The former WHA clubs, by the terms of the expansion, could protect only two goalies and two skaters each in the player dispersal draft . The Jets posted a dismal nine wins in their second season (second-fewest all-time for a season in the NHL), and finished last. The other WHA teams did respectably well in their first year, with
5251-411: The brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum , Nassau County did not consider the WHA a major league and wanted nothing to do with the Raiders. The county recruited William Shea , leader of New York City's successful lobbying campaign to get baseball's National League to expand following the 1957 departures of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants . Working with the NHL, Shea swiftly won over
5340-401: The class of the league, with Hedberg and Nilsson combining with Bobby Hull to form one of hockey's most formidable forward lines. Along with the mass import of European stars, Vancouver attempted unsuccessfully to lure Phil Esposito away from the NHL by offering a contract similar to that of Bobby Hull, with a million dollars upfront. The 1972 Summit Series , which pitted Team Canada against
5429-461: The deal. The NHL had originally been willing to take only the Oilers, Whalers, and Jets, but the WHA insisted that the Nordiques be included as well. Third, although the NHL had insisted on treating the deal as an expansion, it agreed to freeze the expansion fee for each team at $ 6 million U.S., the same fee paid by every other team that had joined the NHL in the 1970s. By comparison, when the Atlanta Flames were sold and moved to Calgary one year later,
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#17328554259685518-452: The early 1980s (such as Mark Howe , Rod Langway , Dave Langevin , Robbie Ftorek , and Paul Holmgren ) had begun their pro careers in the WHA. As a result, the NHL evolved into a truly cosmopolitan league during the 1980s. The WHA ended the NHL policy of paying its players only a fraction of the league's profits and, combined with the abolition of the reserve clause, led to much higher player salaries. Many great stars began their careers in
5607-478: The end of the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats was filmed at the Coliseum. On October 16, 1970, the anti-nuclear protest group Don't Make a Wave Committee held a concert at the Pacific Coliseum and managed to raise funds for a demonstration against nuclear testing by The United States. The demonstration marked the beginning of the environmental organization Greenpeace . On November 14–16, 1978, His Highness Prince Aga Khan , 49th Imam of Ismaili Muslims gave
5696-434: The exclusive beer supplier for the Oilers' and Jets' arenas; it is probable that this concession was made in exchange for the Canadiens' vote. The agreement officially took effect on June 22, 1979 (three months to the day after the deciding vote). On that day, the WHA folded and the NHL formally granted expansion franchises to Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec City, and Winnipeg. On the ice, the WHA teams had proven themselves to be
5785-454: The first leg of their North American Spirits Having Flown Tour . ABBA performed here on September 15, 1979, the second concert of their 1979 North American Tour. KISS performed at the PNE Coliseum twice in their 1970s heyday. The first was on July 24, 1977 "Love Gun Tour" with Cheap Trick as the opening act. The second was on November 19, 1979, during the "Dynasty Tour", with Vancouver's own Loverboy , in their first live performance, as
5874-432: The four new clubs were allowed to stock their rosters through the expansion draft , NHL teams were allowed to reclaim players who had jumped to the WHA. The WHA was able to extract three key concessions. First, the WHA teams were allowed to protect two goaltenders and two skaters to keep their rosters from being completely stripped clean by the NHL teams. Second, the NHL allowed all of the WHA's Canadian teams to be part of
5963-404: The fourth game of the 1972 Summit Series on September 8, when the Soviet Union defeated Canada 5–3. In a famous post-game interview, Phil Esposito voiced his displeasure with the Vancouver crowd's reaction to their loss in an interview that was broadcast on national television. The WHA Vancouver Blazers started playing at the Coliseum in 1973 when local businessman Jim Pattison bought
6052-411: The inaugural season of the WHL Vancouver Giants in 2001, where they would stay until dwindling attendance numbers would cause them to move to the Langley Events Centre after the 2015–16 season. The arena was one of four arenas to play host to the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships , alongside Rogers Arena , Prospera Place in Kelowna , and the Sandman Centre in Kamloops . In 2006 ,
6141-408: The initially reluctant president of the New York Rangers , Bill Jennings , who was persuaded that it would be better to accept competition from an NHL team that would at least be willing to pay his club compensation for sharing the Rangers' territory as opposed to a WHA team that would owe his franchise nothing. The NHL quickly awarded a franchise to Long Island, the New York Islanders , who locked up
6230-418: The league would begin in 1972 with ten teams, each having paid $ 25,000 for their franchise. The average NHL salary in 1972 was $ 25,000, the lowest of the four major sports, while each player was bound by a reserve clause , that automatically extended their contract by one year when it expired, tying them to their team for the life of their career. In October 1972, the WHA announced that it would not use
6319-423: The league's promoters believed there was room for more than one team, such as the Los Angeles Aces , Chicago Cougars , and New York Raiders . Two of the original twelve teams moved before the first season started: the Dayton Arrows became the Houston Aeros and the San Francisco Sharks became the Quebec Nordiques . The Los Angeles franchise then took the nickname Sharks to replace Aces. The Calgary Broncos and
6408-758: The opening act. Cheap Trick returned as a headliner on August 3, 1980, with Loverboy as opening act. Bob Marley and the Wailers played the Coliseum on November 21, 1979, in support of his Survival Tour . Devo performed at the Coliseum on November 30, 1981, as part of their New Traditionalists tour. Aerosmith played at the Coliseum on January 20, 1988, on August 14, 1993, and on October 25, 1997. Nazareth recorded their live album 'Snaz there in May 1981. David Bowie 's performances, during his Serious Moonlight Tour , on September 11–12, 1983, were filmed and released, on VHS and LaserDisc, in 1984, and re-released, as
6497-504: The other bands (on separate dates) were Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. In 1972, The Rolling Stones opened their tour in support of their iconic album Exile On Main Street at the Pacific Coliseum. The band performed " Ventilator Blues " off the Exile album for the only time in their storied career at this concert. Stevie Wonder performed as the opening act. On June 22, 1973, and May 17, 1974,
6586-522: The press, and Blazer financial troubles, Sanderson's contract was bought out before the end of the season. As well, big stars lacked supporting players and the quality of the on-ice product suffered. The WHA won several key victories, including a court ruling that prevented the NHL from binding players to its teams via the reserve clause, and the signings of more NHL stars such as Gordie Howe , Andre Lacroix , Marc Tardif , and in later years, Frank Mahovlich and Paul Henderson . Howe had been lured out of
6675-542: The promise of a balanced schedule, with each team playing the others twice at home and twice on the road. The Canadiens' owners, Molson Breweries , were feeling the effects of a massive boycott that originated in Edmonton, Quebec City, and Winnipeg and spread across Canada. With the boycott severely hurting Molson's sales, the brewer reached agreement with the owners of the three Canadian WHA teams to have Molson replace their competitors (and Nordiques owners) Carling O'Keefe as
6764-589: The reserve clause, stating that "The reserve clause won't stand up to the scrutiny of ... players, players associations, the United States Congress , the public, and the Supreme Court ." The WHA also promised much higher salaries than the NHL offered, and by the time the league began play, it had lured 67 former NHL players to its league, including Bernie Parent , Gerry Cheevers , Derek Sanderson , J. C. Tremblay , and Ted Green . The biggest name signed
6853-560: The sale was $ 16 million U.S. The deal came up for a vote at the NHL Board of Governors meeting in Key Largo, Florida on March 8, 1979. The final tally was 12–5, one vote short of passage, as a three-quarters majority was required to permit a merger. The Boston Bruins , Los Angeles Kings , Montreal Canadiens , Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks voted against the deal. The Bruins were not pleased with having to share New England with
6942-480: The same city, and were the same three Canadian teams that ultimately joined the NHL. The other WHA team to enter the NHL, the Whalers, were the only other WHA team to play all of its home games over seven seasons within a relatively small geographical area, having moved 100 miles (160 km) from Boston to Hartford. Of the original 12 WHA franchises, only the Winnipeg Jets remained for all seven seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. Every season of
7031-532: The signings. The Black Hawks were successful in having a restraining order filed against Hull and the Jets pending the outcome of legal action the Black Hawks were taking against the WHA. The new league was eager for the court action, intending to challenge the legality of the reserve clause. In November 1972, Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia placed an injunction against
7120-471: The stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
7209-648: The team from the Philadelphia Blazers ownership team. The team would last two years before moving to Calgary , becoming the Calgary Cowboys . The Coliseum played host to the 2001 Mann Cup , where the hosting WLA Coquitlam Adanacs defeated MSL's Brampton Excelsiors in seven games. The Coliseum played host to figure skating and short-track speed skating events for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, from February 12 to 28, 2010. The arena hosted its first NHL game on October 9, 1970, where
7298-508: The time. The WHA took the initiative to sign European players, ushering in a new era in North American hockey. The WHA was chronically unstable, with franchises occasionally relocating or folding in the middle of the season. It had an acrimonious relationship with the NHL, resulting in numerous legal battles, as well as competition for control of players and markets. In spite of this, merger talks began almost immediately. NHL owners voted down
7387-599: The tournament's six teams. In December 1976 and January 1977, the Super Series '76-77 tournament took place, opposing the HC CSKA Moscow (Red Army) and WHA teams. The Red Army won the series 6–2. By the 1976–77 season , it had become evident that many of the WHA's franchises were teetering on the verge of financial collapse, and that the (at one time) combined 32 teams of the NHL and WHA had badly strained professional hockey's talent pool. In 1977, merger discussions with
7476-411: The trophy had not yet been completed, and the Whalers skated their divisional championship trophy around the ice surface, much to the embarrassment of the WHA office. Right from the start, the league was plagued with problems. Many teams often found themselves in financial difficulty, folding or moving from one city to another, sometimes mid-season. Citing arena troubles, two of the original twelve teams,
7565-403: The years and currently holds 16,281. During the 2010 Olympic Winter Games , it was the venue for figure skating and short track speed skating . The arena also hosts a variety of concerts and other events. Designed by W. K. Noppe in 1966–67, with its simple geometric shape and distinctive ring of white panels, the building can be classified as formalist architecture . Used initially as home to
7654-467: Was former Chicago Black Hawks star Bobby Hull , who agreed to a ten-year, $ 2.7 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets , the largest in hockey history at the time, and one that lent the league instant credibility. The NHL tried to block several of the defections. The Boston Bruins attempted to restrain Sanderson and Cheevers from joining the WHA, though a United States federal court refused to prohibit
7743-465: Was obvious that Ballard was angered at the WHA being figuratively in his backyard, and took out his frustration with the renegade league on the Toros. These terms compelled Bassett to move the team to Birmingham after three seasons. The league bottomed out in 1975–76 with its third expansion team, the Denver Spurs . A mainstay of the minor Western Hockey League , they were originally supposed to join
7832-418: Was replaced during the 1985 renovations (this renovation work included seismic upgrades to the facility) by a new four-sided centre-hung scoreclock with colour matrix animation/matrix displays along with electronic message boards across the bottom on each side (the original sponsors for this clock were Imperial Tobacco and Molson Brewery ), which in 2007 was replaced by a four-sided Daktronics scoreboard with
7921-508: Was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era. The WHA tried to capitalize on the lack of hockey teams in a number of major American cities and mid-level Canadian cities, and also hoped to attract
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