If the walls of the Red Deer Arena could talk just imagine the stories they could tell after six decades of being a hub of activity.
The rink went up in 1952 in an area which, at the time, most people thought was too far away from the centre of Red Deer. As it turned out the arena wound up being the centre of the city geographically and in a figurative sense as it was the site of not only hockey and figure skating but also rodeos, trade shows and of course the annual fair.
Now in 2016 this latest edition of the arena is coming down to make way for a new, more modern version and its own set of memories.
The old barn reeks of so much history for the people who walked through the doors over the years like former Red Deer College and Midget AAA coach Scott Robinson.
His first visit was when he won a skills competition at 12 years old while living in Stoney Plain. The provincial final was held in Red Deer.
“I ended up winning it here and so that was a great memory being in this rink and it seemed so huge to me. It was gigantic,” he said.
Former NHL’er Mike Moller moved to Red Deer when he was bantam age and suited up for the provincial champion AAA team that season. It was his first experience at the Red Deer Arena as a player but he had been inside the rink before and was impressed.
“I think the biggest thing was it had seats on both sides,” he said. “Most of the rinks back then, you had seats on one side or at the end. The dressing rooms, the lighting, the score clock. It just seemed like the big time.”
Tom Bast moved to Red Deer in 1981 and suited up for the Border Pavers, an intermediate A team in the city. He also coached several minor hockey teams after his playing days were done. He got to watch his own children grow up in the arena and held his annual hockey school on that ice.
“This building has tremendous memories for a lot of people,” he said. ”The Bast family, we’ve had lots of fun with it.”
Earlier this month citizens were part of a big celebration marking the end of an era for the old building which was refurbushed in 1978 and then again in 1995. It was also a chance to get a peek at the newest design which will add another 10,000 square feet to the footprint left behind.
“It’s an opportunity for citizens to come and to remember the great history and the impact that this great arena had on our community,” said Shelley Gagnon with the City of Red Deer. “But even more exciting is the opportunity to move forward. The opportunity to rebuild the facility, bring those memories in but to modernize it and create a brand new facility for the community as a legacy for a lifetime.”
Over the years the Red Deer Arena built a solid reputation as a real home ice advantage for the locals. Some say the quirks in the rink were by design- part of the legend which is the Red Deer Arena. Either truth or fiction, it was a tough place to play hockey if you were from out of town.
“There were a lot of teams which never enjoyed coming to Red Deer because they knew they were in for a real good hockey game and it was a little bit intimidating at one time,” said Bast. “Especially in the old rink. It seemed the fans were on top of the players.”
Mike Moller said Red Deer Minor Hockey always seemed to have good people in place to coach and manage the teams which went a long way to producing strong teams. He says there was certainly a high level of confidence in the Red Deer dressing rooms before a game in the arena.
“We knew it didn’t matter who we were playing, this was our rink,” he said. “There were always some subtleties about the boards and the ice and the bounces and things like that.”
Former Red Deer Rustler goalie Graham Parsons was a part of the team which won a championship and the arena was home for him and his team mates. The memories are fond ones and bring a smile to his face.
“When I came here the city was 26,000 people and the Rustlers were a big deal so it was a real big time in my life,” he said. “I remember the crowds. They were hanging off the rafters.”
In part two of this story we will bring back a few more memories of the old barn and take a closer look at what the new Red Deer Arena will look like.
