The Moose Jaw Civic Centre was a 3,146-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and was home to the

Moose Jaw Warriors The Moose Jaw Warriors are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Moose Jaw Events Centre ...

junior ice hockey team. The building shared the same parking lot with the Town 'N' Country Mall, Moose Jaw's only indoor shopping centre. Designed by Saskatchewan architect Joseph Pettick and Vancouver structural engineer J.L. Miller, the Civic Centre won the Massey Medal for architecture, a precursor to Canada's Governor General's Medals in Architecture. The innovative cable structure roof that gave the building its unique shape, was an ingenious and cost effective solution that allowed such a large building to be constructed on a modest budget, while maintaining an unobstructed view of the arena surface from all seats. At the time it was built it was the largest cable structure in Canada. It earned the nickname of "The Crushed Can" because of its unusual shape. The impetus for the building was a fire that destroyed the old arena rink on Ross Street in the fall of 1955. City Council then appointed a group of citizens to oversee plans for a new building. The building was officially opened as The Moose Jaw Community Centre on September 19, 1959, with a gala event hosted by Saskatchewan Premier

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

, and featuring a performance by Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars. After initial tenders in the range of one million dollars, the length of the building was shortened, and the final cost was a mere $525,000.00. The building opened on budget and debt free. Current replacement cost of the building would be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Mosaic Place Mosaic Place (also known as the Moose Jaw Multiplex) is a multi-purpose arena in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. It hosts ice hockey and curling events and is home to the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League. It opened on August 19, 2 ...

, completed in 2011, served as a replacement for the Moose Jaw Civic Centre. The City mothballed the Civic Centre in September 2011, and demolition was a possibility. Six private developers approached the city with plans to redevelop the building, and in April 2012 an agreement of sale was reached with Civic Centre Plaza Inc. However, the plans unveiled on May 29, 2012, showed the original building being demolished and replaced with several new buildings that mimic the Civic Centre's roofline. Demolition work commenced in August 2012 and was largely completed by November.

References

{{Reflist Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Sports venues in Saskatchewan Buildings and structures in Moose Jaw Sport in Moose Jaw Joseph Pettick buildings 1959 establishments in Saskatchewan Sports venues completed in 1959 Sports venues demolished in 2012 2012 disestablishments in Saskatchewan