Cultural Landmarks of Hamilton-Wentworth

Copps Coliseum

Location:  101 York Boulevard, Hamilton, Ontario

In 1960, Ken Soble was appointed the first chairman of the city's urban renewal committee. He had a vision of a great new arena in Hamilton. Victor Kennedy Copps, Mayor from 1963 until 1976, shared this vision.

Initially, a number of entrepreneurs approached city council to sponsor the development of a new trade centre for the city, but councillors did not want to be put into the position of helping free enterprise profit from taxpayers' money. One businessman offered to build the arena, if the city would donate a piece of Confederation Park for him to build a hotel. This deal fell through.

Not long after, Victor Copps decided to build an arena, stating "All right, if we can't get an outsider to build one, then let us build one," but there was much opposition to this idea. The type of arena, as well as its location, could not be agreed upon.

By July of 1976, proposals began to surface for the arena to be located in Hamilton. As a result of the proposals, a subcommittee was appointed by the city Administrative Committee to look into building such a structure. Key issues looked at by the subcommittee included a review of the functions to be performed in the facility, the type and size of the facility, the cost and method of financing, as well as the location of the proposed arena.

The subcommittee studied several existing arenas in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Seattle, Oakland and Nassau County. Generally, these arenas were constructed as multi-use facilities to handle such functions as hockey, skating, ice capades, basketball, wrestling, boxing, rock concerts, circuses, large conventions, performances by stars, religious functions, indoor sports and track events.

If an arena was to be built, it would require a minimum of 15,000 permanent seats with an ice surface of 200 by 85 feet in order to comply with National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) standards. International hockey would require a maximum ice surface of approximately 100 by 210 feet. This would require approximately 24 to 34 acres of land, which prompted the committee to select a number of possible locations for the arena to be built upon. These included Upper Paradise between Stonechurch and Rymal Road, Upper Wentworth Street, north of Limeridge Road East, Highway 403, north of King Street West, Bay Street North, between King Street West and Merrick Street, Bay Street North between Market Street and York Street, and Balsam Avenue, adjacent to Ivor Wynne Stadium. Projected costs of the arena ranged from $30.5 million to $73 million.

Then, two important events occurred to make it seem as though Hamilton would never have an arena. The first was Victor Copps retiring from the office of Mayor, due to a heart attack. The second event was an election plebiscite which asked the citizens of Hamilton to vote on whether they supported the development of a 15,000-seat downtown arena. The results were disappointing, with over two-thirds of the respondents saying no.

Despite the price being too steep for voters, officials of the NHL and WHA insisted to city council that if Hamilton were to build an arena, it would receive a hockey franchise.

In 1980, the IBI Group, a professional consulting firm, handed in its Stadium/Arena Feasibility Study, reporting that Hamilton had only Ivor Wynne Stadium (34,000 seats), Hamilton Place (1,700 seats) and the Convention Centre (35,000 square feet) to serve a population reaching nearly 500,000. Hamilton's provisions for major recreational, cultural and trade facilities was lacking. The IBI Group claimed to have found strong support for an arena from public surveys (800 people were contacted by telephone) and reminded city council that construction of an arena would create a number of both temporary and permanent jobs. Interestingly, the group's study also showed that the arena would be viable even without a professional hockey team in Hamilton to support it.

The IBI Group suggested the Bay and York location for the arena as the final addition to the city's Downtown Redevelopment Program. It was also suggested that the arena be named for former mayor, Victor K. Copps, in recognition of his strong desire to have an arena built in Hamilton years ago and for his strength of purpose.

Victor Copp's wife, Geraldine, was approached about the idea of naming the proposed arena after her husband and commented that "It's appropriate for two reasons: the arena is downtown where his heart still resides and his name will be on a place where a lot of activity will be going on. Vic was always an active person. The only sad part is that he can't really be involved in it any further. But working so hard for the city and seeing an arena going in there is all the satisfaction he really needs."

Although a model of the proposed arena was unveiled in September of 1980, the city was not completely prepared to start building. Other ideas were still being considered, such as the refurbishing of Ivor Wynne Stadium. Another possibility was to build two new buildings, a downtown arena-trade centre and a stadium on the Mountain. NHL and NBA franchises were also still being considered for the city.

In early October of 1980, city council voted unanimously to approve, in principle, recommendations for the construction of a downtown arena-trade centre and a new stadium on the Mountain. Negotiations began over the funds necessary for the construction of this project. This upset quite a number of citizens, as a vote had been held less than ten years ago, and based on this, it was decided that an arena would not be built.

Despite the upset citizens, in December of 1980 Mayor Bill Powell revealed a new arena plan which a local business group wanted to build in the downtown area. The plans were for a privately-funded $35-million, 18,000-seat, multi-function arena in downtown Hamilton. The chosen site for this project was Bay Street and York Boulevard. The business group behind all of this, Hamilton Coliseum Inc., consisted of 12 individuals and companies, although they refused to reveal exactly who they were.

The construction proposed by Hamilton Coliseum Inc. would be named after Victor Copps and would be patterned after the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. The group's proposed arena was designed by Anthony Butler, the architect responsible for the new Hamilton Public Library. The group claimed that it would look into acquiring a NHL franchise, but would build and operate the arena regardless. They planned to have this arena booked 287 nights of the year with hockey, basketball, indoor soccer, wrestling, ice shows, evangelical events and concerts.

Hamilton City Council was intrigued by Hamilton Coliseum Inc.'s offer and agreed to a commitment to lease the land if the group would reveal themselves. The group claimed that they wanted to keep their identities secret because they feared pessimism and ridicule from citizens. Up until this point only one man in the group, Mr. Bill Matheson, had revealed himself.

Bill Matheson was quite confident about plans for the arena and said that only two things could stop them: "One, because there would be a big problem with the lease, but so far my legal people can't see it. The other reason would be that, we shovel down 20 feet and find an Indian burial ground."

Furthering their negotiations with the city, in February of 1981, Hamilton Coliseum Inc. claimed that it would post a $100,000 bond which would be forfeited if the project did not begin and finish as planned. On February 11, 1981, the city turned down Bill Matheson and the Hamilton Coliseum Inc. group's bid to win a two-week extension which they needed to put their proposal together. Council stated that it could find no concrete evidence that the necessary financing had been arranged. After council turned down the group's bid, negotiations fell apart completely and plans for an arena were once again on hold. Council began to realize that if they really wanted an arena they might just have to build it themselves (with financial help from federal and provincial governments).

The federal government agreed to donate $4 million toward the new arena. Eventually the provincial government also agreed to match this pledge. This put city council in a difficult position since they had not officially decided to build the arena. In May of 1981, council approved building a facility with a minimum cost of $16 million. More than $2 million was collected from a public fundraising drive and city council sent three aldermen and three staff members on a tour of seven North American arenas to gain first-hand information on building an arena.

On June 11, 1981 an 18,000-seat arena-trade centre at a gross cost not exceeding $42.7 million was unanimously approved for construction by the Parks Board. On June 23, 1981 city council also unanimously approved it.

By the end of September, 1981, city council had decided that Sink/Combs and Associates, a Denver, Colorado-based firm would develop the basic design for Hamilton's downtown arena. The Ontario Association of Architects argued that the use of the Denver company would be illegal according to provincial legislation which required the city to hire an Ontario architect for "full architectural services." This architect could then rely on Sink/Combs as a consultant, if their services were desired. The city, not being above provincial legislation, complied by requesting that any interested Ontario architects submit design proposals for the arena-trade centre complex. Eventually the city hired a Toronto-based firm, Parkin Partnership Architects Planners, whose past projects include Toronto City Hall and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Toronto-based firm agreed to work with the Denver-based Sink/Combs as a consultant.

On January 11, 1983, city council agreed that the construction of the arena should begin as soon as the weather permitted. On May 11, 1983, the Ontario Municipal Board approved the construction of the arena. The city was also given approval to borrow up to $17.79 million. The rest of the money required would come from federal and provincial government contributions ($8 million total), a special $5 levy on four years of taxpayers, plus money from the city reserves ($10.9 million), interest on those funds ($2.5 million) and public contributions ($3.5 million).

On July 19, 1983, Hamilton-based Piggot Construction Ltd. was chosen to build the arena. They tendered $33.5 million and estimated it would take 495 days before completion of the arena. An official sod-turning ceremony, attended by Mayor Bob Morrow and several other politicians, was held on August 2, 1983.

Some people began to worry that there might not be enough parking space in the downtown area where the arena was being built, so on January 31, 1984, city council approved the acquisition of $1.7 million worth of additional arena parking space. The Ontario Municipal Board later approved this as well. The city also spent $600,000 on developing the acquired land so that it could be used for parking.

In June of 1984, city council appointed John Crane as general manager,even though construction of the arena was not yet complete. His background included overseeing the construction of Roy Thomson Hall and holding the position of building manager from 1981 to 1983. Ice capades, circuses and hockey games were already being planned for the arena. The possibility of Hamilton hosting a few Canada Cup games was discussed.

In February of 1985, it was decided that the arena needed a shorter name than the official name of Victor Kennedy Copps Trade-Centre Arena. It needed a working, or unofficial name. Suggestions from the public were sought. Copps Centre and Copps Coliseum were both considered as possibilities, as were the Ice Palace, Cat Complex, Burlington Skyway, The Vic, Copp Shop and Steel City Arena. Eventually, Copps Coliseum was chosen and approved by the board of directors of the arena.

By March of 1985, the Victor K. Copps Trade-Centre Arena began seeking donations to pay for some of the equipment that would be necessary to running the arena, but which was not factored into the original budget. March 6 was the kick-off date of their fund-raiser and a small ceremony was held.

Once the fund-raisers began, the city was able to purchase a scoreboard clock for the arena from the Winnipeg Arena for $214,000. Although it was not brand new, the scoreboard clock, would meet the needs of Copps Coliseum.

Many tons of Hamilton steel went into the construction of the coliseum. The roof was constructed of lightweight steel and believed to be the first of its kind in Canada. This type of roof meant that the coliseum could be constructed with a column-free interior, allowing many more seats and unobstructed views.

As construction of the arena neared completion, plans were made for an official opening. This took place on November 30, 1985 and included an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. followed by an old-timers hockey game pitting the former Hamilton Red Wings against the St. Catharines Black Hawks and Teepees at 7:30 p.m. 5,000 free tickets to the opening were made available.

The opening ceremony included music courtesy of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry and the band from the HMCS Star. As well, a massed band of 300 secondary school students, the Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and a chorus of 1,200 voices from area elementary and secondary schools performed. A special fanfare was composed for the occasion by Glenn Mallory. Scarlett Antaloczy, a graduate of McMaster University and the Berklee School of Music, performed. Some Scottish dancing was also performed. The gathering was described as a who's who of Hamilton -- politicians, businessmen, lawyers, school board officials, media types and the like, plus guests who had some connection with the arena and its construction were all there. Lieutenant Governor Alexander, the Honourable Barbara McDougall, the Honourable Lily Oddi Munro, the Honourable John Eakins, Alderman Brian Hinkley, Alderman Don Grey, Mayor Bob Morrow and Mrs. Geraldine Copps were all in attendance. Victor Copps was unable to attend the ceremony, due to poor his poor health.

About a dozen young people ended the coliseum's opening weekend event as they camped outside of the arena in the frigid wind and snow to purchase tickets for a New Year's Day rock concert with the Thompson Twins and Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark. This concert turned out to be quite successful, and proved that Copps Coliseum was ideal for rock concerts. To help with acoustics, which are usually hampered by the large size of arenas, the coliseum's roof was corrugated and the blockwork on the uppers walls was slotted. The oval shape of the building also helped with sound. Several other concerts soon followed, including performances by the Beach Boys, Corey Hart, Kenny Rogers, Wayne Newton, New Kids on the Block and the Grateful Dead.

Along with all 18,000 of the regular seats (including 175 for the handicapped), there are also a series of ten executive boxes around the arena. Upon its opening, three were set aside -- one for city hall and the arenas board of governors, one for TV cameras and one for the hero that would bring an NHL team to Hamilton.

The Junior World Hockey Championships were played at Copps Coliseum from December 26 to January 4 and these first few hockey games were very successful, with only a few minor complaints.

The first wrestling match at Copps Coliseum, Mosca Mania, was held on February 2, 1986.

The first NHL game to be held in the arena was an exhibition game played between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals on September 27, 1986. This was the first NHL game played in Hamilton in over 60 years and was attended by more than 15,000 fans. Later, several Canada Cup games were also played at the arena and these too turned out to be quite popular with the fans.

The popularity of the coliseum exceeded expectations during a time in 1986 and the arena led North American gross ticket sales.

On November 29, 1986, a Birthday Bash was held at the coliseum to mark the one year anniversary since its opening in 1985. The celebration included free skating and cake for everyone. The cake was 9cm thick, with rich chocolate icing, weighed 139 kilograms and was made in the shape of a hockey puck.

In the summer of 1987, several additions were made to the coliseum. First, city officials chose Burton Kramer to create an eight-meter high, two-sided electronic sign to stand outside of the arena, at the corner of York Boulevard and Bay Street (this was not finished until 1988). The next addition was the Copps Coliseum Wall of Fame, a series of pictures and short histories of athletes, teams and events in Hamilton sporting history that would cover some of the inside walls of the arena (opened in August, 1987). A tribute to Victor Copps was also added. It was a marble carving of the former mayor, donated by the Copps family and surrounded by the names of all of those who helped to make his dream of an arena in Hamilton a reality.

Technical Information on Copps Coliseum

Victor Kennedy Copps

Victor Kennedy Copps (1919-1988)
Born: March 21, 1919, Haileybury, Ont.
Married: Geraldine Guthro, November 22, 1948
Died: October 15, 1988
Buried: Holy Sepulchre Cemetery

After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, Copps returned to Timmins to work for the local newspaper. In 1945, he moved to Hamilton where he was hired as a sports reporter for CHML radio. His first foray into politics was when he was elected senior controller on the Board of Control in 1960. He was also deputy Mayor. In 1962, he ran against the incumbent, Mayor Jackson and defeated him. He served as Mayor until 1976 when he suffered a severe heart attack during the Around the Bay Road Race and left public office. He was Hamilton's first Roman Catholic mayor and set another record for long service - 13 years as Mayor. He implemented planning in the 1950's for downtown's urban renewal. His unfulfilled ambition as Mayor was the construction of an arena. The new Hamilton Trade Centre and Arena was named the Victor Kennedy Copps Trade Centre and Arena when it opened in 1983.

References:
Copps Coliseum:  A Commemorative Souvenir Publication.  Published by Hamilton This Month Publishing Inc.
Copps Coliseum Scrapbooks.  Special Collections, HPL.
Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. Scrapbook.  vol. 1. p. 44.   Special Collections, HPL.

The Hamilton Public Library would like to extend thanks to Art Ward for the pictures of Copps Coliseum during construction.

Link: 
Copps Coliseum Homepage