Windsor Arena (nicknamed The Barn, because of its age, wooden construction, and its appearance of a giant barn) is an indoor arena located in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

. Its capacity is approximately 4,400 with standing room. The arena's ice is an asymmetrical by or . The arena was the home of the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

from 1975 to 2008, at which time the team's home was moved to the

WFCU Centre WFCU Centre is an arena and entertainment centre in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. WFCU Centre replaced the 84-year-old Windsor Arena as the primary home of the Windsor Spitfires. It opened on December 11, 2008, in the east end of the city. WFCU Cent ...

History

Originally named the Border Cities Arena, it hosted the Detroit Cougars (later renamed the Detroit Red Wings) for the 1926-1927 NHL season, while the

Olympia Stadium Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979. Histo ...

was under construction. The Border Cities Arena, built in 1925 for the local junior hockey team, was expanded from 6,000 to 9,000 for the Cougars. The arena was later renamed the Windsor Arena. Having been constructed in 1924, the arena is among the oldest of its type in North America. In 2006, the WFCU Centre, located in the city's east side off Lauzon Road, was approved by the Windsor city council. The decision to replace the arena is attributed to complaints about Windsor Arena's seating and tiny concourses. The Spitfires' final game at the Windsor Arena was played on December 4, 2008. Windsor beat the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

2-1, giving the Spitfires a perfect 12-0 record at The Barn for the 2008-09 season. From 2009 until 2013, the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

Lancers hockey teams took over as the major tenants of the arena. Also, the Windsor Minor Hockey Association used this arena for games until 2013. In February 2014, the arena was used as a site for salt storage. I In April 2014, Catholic Central High School proposed a plan to construct a new school on the site, with the full demolition of Windsor Arena being part of the plan without any emphasis. The City of Windsor approved the plan to build the new Catholic Central High School on this site; however, the plans never came to fruition and the school was constructed elsewhere. Windsor Arena panoramic 2012

References

External links

*"Famous Canadian Arenas" exhibit at the National Library of Canada's ''Virtual Museum of Canada'' exhibit
"Windsor Arena"
* http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/04/01/board-recommends-building-25-million-downtown-catholic-central-high-school/ * https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/catholic-school-board-to-continue-to-push-for-new-catholic-central-at-arena-site {{Former NHL arenas Sports venues in Windsor, Ontario Boxing venues in Ontario Ontario Hockey League arenas Defunct indoor arenas in Canada Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada Defunct National Hockey League venues 1924 establishments in Ontario Sports venues completed in 1924