The Fort William Gardens is a multi-purpose arena, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1951.

History

The Gardens opened on March 6, 1951. The

Fort William Canadians The Fort William Canadians were a junior ice hockey team based in Fort William, Ontario, Canada. The Canadians were members of the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League and were Abbott Cup finalists three times. For a while, the ''Fort William Can ...

defeated the

Fort William Hurricanes The Westfort Hurricanes were a Canadian Junior ice hockey club from Fort William, Ontario. The Herks were members of the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League and were Abbott Cup finalists once. History In 1972, the Hurricanes broke away from the ...

by a 4–2 score in the first game, which was refereed by Fred Page and with a paid attendance of 5,200 tickets. The isolation of Thunder Bay and travel costs have prevented the Gardens from retaining most teams. It hosted an NHL pre-season game in 1993 between the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, and two pre-season AHL games in 2002 with St. John's Maple Leafs vs. Manitoba Moose, and 2 in 2003 with Manitoba Moose vs. Toronto Roadrunners. The Gardens has hosted the

1975 Allan Cup The 1975 Allan Cup was the Canadian senior ice hockey championship for the 1974–75 season. The event was hosted by both Barrie and Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 1975 playoff marked the 67th time that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The Thunder Bay ...

, the

1988 Allan Cup The 1988 Allan Cup was the Canadian senior ice hockey championship for the 1987–88 senior "AAA" season. The event was hosted by the Thunder Bay Twins in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 1988 playoff marked the 80th time that the Allan Cup has been ...

, and

1991 Allan Cup The 1991 Allan Cup was the Canadian national senior ice hockey championship for the 1990-91 Senior "AAA" season. The event was hosted by the Thunder Bay Twins in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 1991 tournament marked the 83rd time that the Allan Cup has ...

, representing the Grand Championship of Canadian Senior hockey. The Gardens played host to the 1967 Memorial Cup series in which the Toronto Marlboros defeated the Port Arthur Marrs for the national junior hockey championship. The Gardens hosted the 1988 Air Canada Cup National Midget Hockey Championship.

Tenants

Since 2001, the Gardens has been home to the Lakehead Thunderwolves men's university hockey program, and a

Superior International Junior Hockey League The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) is a junior A ice hockey league and a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and Hockey Canada. The league operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. states of M ...

team. Previous tenants include the Thunder Bay Bulldogs, Fort William North Stars, Thunder Bay Flyers, the

Thunder Bay Senators The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was a minor professional ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and a member of the United Hockey League. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including th ...

Thunder Bay Thunder Cats The Thunder Bay Thunder Cats was a minor professional ice hockey team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and a member of the United Hockey League. The team went through a number of different names prior to being the Thunder Cats, including th ...

, and the

Thunder Bay Twins The Thunder Bay Twins were an Amateur Senior and Professional ice hockey team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The Twins won five Allan Cups as National Senior Champions from 1970 until 1991. Origin On 1 January 1970, the City of Thunder Bay w ...

Major events

The Gardens has also hosted several national curling championships: * 1960 Macdonald Brier * 1976 Women's

Canadian Junior Curling Championships The Canadian Junior Curling Championships is an annual curling tournament held to determine the best junior-level curling team in Canada. Junior level curlers must be under the age of 21 as of June 30 in the year prior to the tournament. The even ...

* 1991 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships *

1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts The 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's national curling championship, was played February 17 to 25 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Ontario, skipped by Marilyn Bodogh won the title, defeating Alberta's Cheryl Kul ...

* 2002 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Open (Grand Slam Event) *

2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts The 2022 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, was held from January 28 to February 6 at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The winning team represented Canada at the 2022 World Women's Curli ...

The arena has hosted Remembrance Day ceremonies, festivals, circuses and many concerts including such artists as The Beach Boys, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, The Guess Who, John Lee Hooker, Burton Cummings,

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

, Celine Dion, Willie Nelson,

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, Rush, REM,

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

, Slade, Ted Nugent, Skid Row, The Black Crowes, Foreigner, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Black Oak Arkansas, Pearl Jam, Our Lady Peace, Nickelback and The Tragically Hip.

References

External links

TBShows.com Concert information at Fort William Gardens
{{coord, 48, 23, 09, N, 89, 15, 02, W, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Sports venues in Thunder Bay Indoor arenas in Ontario

History

Tenants

Major events

See also

References

External links