Big Boy Arena (formerly Fraser Hockeyland and Great Lakes Sports City) in

Fraser, Michigan Fraser is a city in Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Michigan, bordering Lake St. Clair, and is part of northern Metro Detroit. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 881,217, ...

, is a ice center and entertainment venue offering five rinks for hockey, figure skating, inline skating, camps, clinics, private lessons, leagues, and special events. Its largest ice rink is a stadium arena with a 3,400-seat capacity. The ice center was the home of the

Motor City Mechanics The Motor City Mechanics were a minor professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League. The Mechanics played two seasons from 2004 to 2006 at Great Lakes Sports City Superior Arena in Fraser, Michigan. History The team got a major boost d ...

of the former

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

. It was also home to the

Metro Jets The Metro Jets are a non-sanctioned junior ice hockey team that plays their home games at Mount Clemens Ice Arena in Mount Clemens, Michigan. They are members of the Great Lakes Conference in the United States Premier Hockey League's Premier Div ...

junior and youth hockey organization from 2015 to 2021. The complex was the host of the 2007

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

National Championships for the Midget division. When the complex was known as Great Lakes Sports City, their five rinks were all named after one of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. On August 1, 2013, the complex changed its name to Fraser Hockeyland and a partnership with

the Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

resulted in the five rinks changing names. Michigan became

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Arena, Huron became

Dasani Dasani () is an American brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled. Marketing United States Coca-C ...

Arena, Ontario became Sprite Arena, Erie became

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo. History In 1988, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, anot ...

Arena, and Superior became

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

Arena. In July 2020, it was announced the

Motor City Rockers The Motor City Rockers are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fraser, Michigan. The team is the tenth to join the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). After experiencing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rockers played ...

, a minor professional team in the

Federal Prospects Hockey League The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Do ...

, was to play out of Fraser Hockeyland beginning with the 2020–21 season. However, due to the ongoing restrictions during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Rockers withdrew before the season began and were later removed from the league's team directory. However, the Rockers came back with new ownership for the 2022–2023 season and will still call the Big Boy Arena home. Big Boy Arena is also the home to B & R Sports Pro Shop, Michigan Athletic Training (MAT) facility, the Fraser Figure Skating Club, as well as Michigan Sports Enterprises adult hockey. Michigan high school teams including

Chippewa Valley The Chippewa Valley is a valley in Wisconsin, US. History The valley was first inhabited by the Ojibwe and colonized by German and Scandinavian immigrants. The region also has a large Hmong community. While the term "Chippewa Valley" technicall ...

, Regina, Grosse Pointe North, and Grosse Pointe South call Big Boy Arena their home rink.

References

External links

Fraser Hockeyland website
{{Coord, 42.548571, -82.9563, display=t, type:landmark Indoor arenas in Michigan Indoor ice hockey venues in Michigan Sports venues in Metro Detroit Buildings and structures in Macomb County, Michigan Wayne State Warriors men's ice hockey