The Oshawa Civic Auditorium was an indoor arena in
Oshawa
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It operated from 1964 to 2006, and was primarily used as an ice hockey venue for the
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...
. The auditorium was built as a replacement to the
Hambly Arena
The Hambly Arena was an indoor ice rink in Oshawa, Ontario, also known as the Oshawa Arena. It operated from 1930 to 1953, and was primarily used as an ice hockey venue for the Oshawa Generals. The Hambly Arena was built as a replacement to the woo ...
, which burned down in 1953.
The auditorium was part of a larger multi-purpose recreational complex.
Construction
The construction of the auditorium was led by a committee of residents with the slogan: "Let's build it ourselves, for ourselves."
Volunteers raised $1.4 million from the community to fund the project, including $476,000 from the local General Motors employees union (
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW; formally the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada) was one of Canada's largest and highest profile labour unions. In 2013, it merged with the Communications, Energy and ...
) through payroll reductions.
The City of Oshawa provided 20 acres of land on Thornton Road South, previously designated for a cemetery.
Groundbreaking for the project took place on February 28, 1964,
and the formal opening took place on December 11, 1964.
The auditorium capacity was 3,625 seated, and 4,025 including standing room.
History
The Oshawa Generals began play at the auditorium on December 15, 1964, and won 6–4 over the
St. Catharines Black Hawks.
While playing at the auditorium, the Generals won five
J. Ross Robertson Cup
The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...
s, and the
1990 Memorial Cup
The 1990 Memorial Cup occurred May 5–13 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the 72nd annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Participating teams ...
. The Oshawa Generals hosted the
1987 Memorial Cup
The 1987 Memorial Cup occurred May 9–15 at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium in Oshawa, Ontario. It was the 69th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) ...
tournament at the auditorium. The Generals played their final at the auditorium on October 29, 2006, and won 8–6 over the
Kingston Frontenacs
The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Frontenacs play home games at Leon's Centre, which opened in 2008.
Team history predates the OHA, back to 1945, to a te ...
.
The
Oshawa Legionaires
Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
won three regular season
Metro Junior B League titles playing at the auditorium. The
Oshawa Green Gaels
The Green Gaels are a Junior "B" box lacrosse team based in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, that plays out of the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The Gaels play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
History
The ...
moved into the auditorium partway through their seven consecutive
Minto Cup
The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada.
It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto. Originally restricted to amateurs, within three years the first under-the-table professional ...
s from 1963 to 1969.
The auditorium hosted the inaugural
Wrigley Cup in 1974, a national midget hockey tournament for the top 12 teams in the country set up by
Jack Devine
Jack Devine is a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a founding partner and President of The Arkin Group LLC.
Biography
Devine's career at the CIA spanned from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, including the fall of Salvador A ...
and the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...
.
On April 22, 1979, the auditorium hosted two
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
s for the
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
The CNIB Foundation (french: Fondation INCA) is a volunteer agency and charitable organization dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded ...
by the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
, after
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
was charged with possession of heroin. The auditorium became home to the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame on May 21, 1986. The auditorium became home to the world's longest hockey stick in 2003.
In May 2006,
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
was one of the final concerts at the auditorium.
Replacement
In June 2005, construction began on a replacement arena in downtown Oshawa. The
General Motors Centre
The Tribute Communities Centre, formerly known as the General Motors Centre or GM Centre, GMC for short, is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, which opened in November 2006. The arena was constructed to replace the ...
opened as the city's new primary hockey venue in October 2006. The auditorium sat idle until demolition between April and July 2010. The former site of the auditorium became an indoor turf field.
References
{{reflist
External links
City of Oshawa Recreation Complex
1964 establishments in Ontario
2006 disestablishments in Ontario
Defunct indoor arenas in Canada
Defunct indoor ice hockey venues in Canada
Defunct sports venues in Canada
Demolished buildings and structures in Ontario
Indoor lacrosse venues in Canada
Ontario Hockey League arenas
Oshawa Generals
Sports venues completed in 1964
Sports venues demolished in 2010
Sports venues in Oshawa
Demolished sports venues