The Oshawa Civic Auditorium was an indoor arena in Oshawa,

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 C ...

, Canada. It operated from 1964 to 2006, and was primarily used as an ice hockey venue for the Oshawa Generals. The auditorium was built as a replacement to the Hambly Arena, 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 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 major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Oshawa earne ...

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

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 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 President ...

and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. 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 by the Rolling Stones, 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

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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