| Architect: G.G.Reid of Toronto was dismissed and
replaced by J.M. Stevenson of Calgary. Stevenson spent
several months touring North America to study innovations
in arena design. He consulted experts in refrigeration,
ventilation and construction before finalizing the design
with engineer J.A.Scarr.
Contractor:
Bird Construction Company.
Original
cost: $1,250,000 - $1,500,00
Construction materials:
Reinforced concrete and
steel.
Architectural style:
Combined Art Deco, Moderne
and International styles. Modernistic bas - relief
pictures of hockey players in action decorated the main
foyer. A cowboy on a bucking bronco was featured over the
main entrance facade.
Original interior
details:
The arena was designed with
seating for 6,650 and 2,200 standing. Four small towers
at the corner of the building contained the stairway to
upper level seats. A 24 - foot wide concourse circled the
entire building. All seats, arranged in color coded
sections to indicate the price range of the tickets, had
an unobstructed view of the ice surface.
Historical highlights:
- Built as home to the
Calgary Stampeders hockey club to replace the
outdated but well used Victoria Arena, horseshow
and livestock building. It was the largest arena
west of Toronto. "When the construction
crews poured the seat deck concrete it was the
biggest and longest concrete pour in Calgary
history."
- A gigantic western
style "house - warming" was held
December 15, 1950. For a 55 cent admission,
members of the public were invited to view the
new arena for the first time. Square dancing,
be-bop, Scottish and native dancers entertained
the guests who were encouraged to dress Western.
- The arena was officially
opened December 26, 1950 with a Western Hockey
League contest between the Calgary Stampeders and
Edmonton Flyers. Calgary won 5 to 0 in front of
8,729 fans and invited guests; J.B.Cross,
President of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede,
the Honourable David Ure, Minister of Agriculture
and Calgary Mayor D.H. Mackay.
- Among the suggested
names for the new arena were; Calgary Coliseum,
The Fort, The Teepee, Rodeodrome, Ampitheatre,
Stampedeorium, The Arena and Stampede Gardens.
- The Stampede Board
decided that the name for the new facility was to
be chosen by the fans who attended the opening
hockey game on Boxing Day. Although the crowd
allegedly voted by ballot for Stampede Gardens,
officials created a public furore by naming it
the Stampede Corral. The sports department of a
local newspaper refused to accept the name and
throughout 1951 referred to it as "the new
arena."
- A 1958 promotional
brochure claimed that the Corral could
accommodate a wide range of attractions. "It
is equally adaptable to hockey, skating, ice
show, horse shows, home shows, boxing, wrestling,
name bands, dancing, religious gatherings,
banquets, bingo and celebrity concerts."
- The Corral was home ice
for the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames
team until they moved to the Saddledome in 1983.
When the Flames first moved into the Corral in
1980, it was newly painted, dressing rooms were
enlarged and carpeted and a new press box was
built. During their three seasons at the Corral,
the Flames played 133 games. (75 wins, 32 losses
and 26 ties)
- Over the last forty eight
years the Corral has hosted many cultural, social
and sporting events. Bill Haley's Comets, Fats
Domino, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Nelson
Eddy, Vienna Boys Choir, Arthur Rubenstein, Don
Messer and the Islanders all played the Corral.
It was the venue for the Calgary Stampeders win
of the 1953 -1954 Canadian Professional Hockey
Championship, World Figure Skating Championships
(1972) and Winter Olympic hockey (1988).
- The Corral continues to
play a significant role in the community and each
year during the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede,
thousands of visitors file through the arena
which was once called "the finest in the
country."
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