The Stampede Corral was a multi-purpose venue ( ice hockey, professional wrestling,

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

, tennis) in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta, Canada. Located on the grounds of Stampede Park, the arena was completed in 1950 at a cost of C$1.25 million ($ million today) to replace Victoria Arena as the home of the Calgary Stampeders minor professional hockey club (not to be confused with the present-day Canadian Football League team of the same name), which hosted their Western Hockey League games for years. The Corral was built and owned by the not-for-profit Calgary Exhibition & Stampede organization, which leased the underlying land at $1/year from the city of Calgary. Seating 6,475, plus standing room, it was used during the annual Calgary Stampede, with a variety of entertainment events in each year's daily ENMAX Corral Show. In March 2016, the Calgary Stampede organization announced plans to demolish the Stampede Corral to make way for a $500 million expansion of the adjacent BMO Centre. Stampede officials said that the Corral was no longer up to code, and it would not have been worth the expense to renovate it. Demolition began in December 2020 and was completed in 2021. At the time of construction, the Stampede Corral was the largest arena in Canada west of Toronto, and the first in the region without support columns obscuring the lines of sight. It was officially opened on December 15, 1950. The first hockey game was held at the Corral on December 26, as the Stampeders defeated the

Edmonton Flyers The Edmonton Flyers are a defunct ice hockey team that was based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The team existed from 1940 until 1963. The Flyers played in the Edmonton Gardens. The Flyers were nominated by W. G. Hardy to represent Canada at the ...

5–0 in a

Western Canada Senior Hockey League The Western Canada Senior Hockey League was a senior ice hockey league that played six seasons in Alberta and Saskatchewan, from 1945 to 1951. The league produced the 1946 Allan Cup and the 1948 Allan Cup champions, and merged into the Pacific Coas ...

game before a standing-room-only crowd of 8,729. The following musicians from Alberta performed there:

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

in '64,

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits r ...

in '80; Tegan and Sara in '05. The Stampede Corral hosted several major events, including the 1972 World Figure Skating Championships, the figure skating and ice hockey events at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

, as well as rodeo competitions. The Corral was also a frequent venue for the Canada Davis Cup team, with Canada holding a 5–0 all-time record in the Corral in this international tennis challenge. Most recently, Canada defeated Mexico 4–1 in the 2008 tournament. For years, the Stampede Corral played host to special wrestling supershows promoted by Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, particularly during the Calgary Stampede. Stampede Wrestling is known for having featured some of the biggest names in pro wrestling history prior to its purchase by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) in 1984, including Bret Hart,

Archie Gouldie Archibald Edward Gouldie (November 22, 1936 – January 23, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of ...

Dan Kroffat Daniel Kroffat (born June 14, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented the ladder match. Professional wrestling career Stampede W ...

and Jake Roberts. WWE also used the Corral numerous times for non-televised house shows. On November 21, 2016, the last Disney On Ice show was cancelled at the last minute. No reason cited for the cancellation although Disney offered refunds. The Stampede Corral housed one of Canada's most extensive private sports photo collections on public display – part of the Calgary Stampede Archives collection. A significant restoration of the photo collection, taking two years and costing over $75,000, was underway in 2016.

Former tenants

References

Official website
{{Authority control Venues of the 1988 Winter Olympics Calgary Cowboys Calgary Flames arenas Defunct National Hockey League venues Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Legends Football League venues Music venues in Calgary Olympic figure skating venues Olympic ice hockey venues Sports venues completed in 1950 Sports venues in Calgary Stampede Wrestling Tennis venues in Canada Western Hockey League arenas World Hockey Association venues North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor venues Historic buildings in Calgary 1950 establishments in Alberta Rodeo venues in Canada Tennis in Alberta