Fort William Gardens

The Fort William Gardens is a multi-purpose arena, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1951.

History
The Gardens opened on March 6, 1951. The Fort William Canadians defeated the Fort William Hurricanes by a 4–2 score in the first game, which was refereed by Fred Page and with a paid attendance of 5,200 tickets.

The isolation of Thunder Bay and travel costs have prevented the Gardens from retaining most teams. It hosted an NHL pre-season game in 1993 between the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, and two pre-season AHL games in 2002 with St. John's Maple Leafs vs. Manitoba Moose, and 2 in 2003 with Manitoba Moose vs. Toronto Roadrunners.

The Gardens has hosted the 1975 Allan Cup, the 1988 Allan Cup, and 1991 Allan Cup, representing the Grand Championship of Canadian Senior hockey. The Gardens played host to the 1967 Memorial Cup series in which the Toronto Marlboros defeated the Port Arthur Marrs for the national junior hockey championship. The Gardens hosted the 1988 Air Canada Cup National Midget Hockey Championship.

Tenants
Since 2001, the Gardens has been home to the Lakehead Thunderwolves men's university hockey program, and a Superior International Junior Hockey League team. Previous tenants include the Thunder Bay Bulldogs, Fort William North Stars, Thunder Bay Flyers, the Thunder Bay Senators/Thunder Bay Thunder Cats, and the Thunder Bay Twins.

Major events
The Gardens has also hosted several national curling championships:
 1960 Tim Hortons Brier
 1976 Women's Canadian Junior Curling Championships
 1991 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships.
 1996 Scott Tournament of Hearts
 2002 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Open (Grand Slam Event)

The arena has hosted Remembrance Day ceremonies, festivals, circuses and many concerts including such artists as The Beach Boys, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, The Guess Who, John Lee Hooker, Burton Cummings, Roy Orbison, Celine Dion, Willie Nelson, Bee Gees, Rush, REM, AC/DC, Slade, Ted Nugent, Skid Row, The Black Crowes, Foreigner, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Black Oak Arkansas, Pearl Jam, Our Lady Peace, Nickelback and The Tragically Hip.

Future
The Thunder Bay Community Auditorium (1,500 seated) competes for concert bookings. Lakehead University has proposed working with the city to build a new, larger arena and convention centre to replace the Gardens. 

Thunder Bay City Council has agreed for the need for such an arena, but believes that the Gardens is still in usable condition. City council turned down the most recent proposal in October 2006. In February 2007, city council decided to lease a new boiler for the facility, holding off a decision to purchase a new one in the event that a replacement is successfully approved.

In November 2009, Thunder Bay city manager Tim Commisso put forward a report with a plan to pay for future infrastructure projects, including a $70 to 128 million replacement for the Gardens. The report, was approved in principle, and plans are now underway to decide on the right location.

References

External links
TBShows.com Concert information at Fort William Gardens
Azhockey.com page

Category:Indoor ice hockey venues in Canada
Category:Sports venues in Thunder Bay
Category:Indoor arenas in Ontario