Edmonton Gardens began life in 1913 as the Edmonton Stock Pavilion, a dual-purpose building at the city’s fairgrounds meant to host both livestock shows and hockey games. The arena opened with an exhibition match between the Edmonton Eskimos and Edmonton Dominions on Christmas Day 1913, drawing a crowd of roughly 2,000 to a building that had been constructed in part so the noise and crowds of hockey could stay away from downtown Edmonton.
Over the following decades the building, soon known as Edmonton Gardens, became the home rink for generations of local hockey, hosting the Eskimos, the Edmonton Flyers, and the junior Edmonton Oil Kings. A 1966 renovation gutted the old interior, removed sightline-blocking support columns, and added a new lobby, expanding capacity to about 5,200 seats for one more era of hockey before the building’s history came to a stubborn end.
- Edmonton Oilers played here 1972–1974. See every Oilers arena →
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton Flyers, Edmonton Oil Kings, WHA Edmonton Oilers
- Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Opened: 1913 (as Edmonton Stock Pavilion)
- Closed: Demolished February 1982
- Capacity: About 5,200 (after 1966 renovation)
- Notable fact: Survived an initial implosion attempt and needed a wrecking ball to come down
From Stock Pavilion to Hockey Home
Edmonton Gardens’ original purpose as a livestock pavilion shaped its early design, with the building sited at the fairgrounds alongside stables and a horse racing track rather than in the city center. That same arena floor, however, quickly became the center of Edmonton’s hockey world, hosting three Memorial Cup tournaments in the early 1960s and giving the Edmonton Oil Kings a home ice for junior hockey for more than two decades.
The building’s most famous chapter came in the early 1970s, when the World Hockey Association’s Edmonton Oilers played their first two seasons, from 1972 to 1974, at the Gardens before the team moved into the newly built Northlands Coliseum. The Gardens also briefly hosted indoor soccer’s Edmonton Drillers and served as a boxing venue during the 1978 Commonwealth Games.
A Demolition That Wouldn’t Take
By the early 1980s, Edmonton Gardens had been eclipsed by newer facilities and was slated for demolition. The building became a local legend in its final moments: reports describe the structure surviving an attempt to bring it down with roughly 320 sticks of dynamite, forcing crews to finish the job with a wrecking ball in February 1982.
Though the physical building is long gone, Edmonton Gardens remains a touchstone in the city’s hockey history as the arena where the Oilers franchise took its first competitive steps before growing into one of the NHL’s most storied teams at its successor venue.
Explore more: Explore more historic stadiums and arenas.
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Edmonton Gardens FAQs
When did Edmonton Gardens open?
The building opened in 1913 as the Edmonton Stock Pavilion, with an exhibition hockey game held on Christmas Day that year marking its ceremonial opening as a hockey venue.
Which teams played at Edmonton Gardens?
The arena was home to the Edmonton Eskimos, the Edmonton Flyers, the junior Edmonton Oil Kings, and the WHA’s Edmonton Oilers from 1972 to 1974, among other tenants.
What happened to Edmonton Gardens?
The arena was demolished in February 1982 after the Oilers and other tenants moved to the newer Northlands Coliseum; the building famously resisted an initial dynamite implosion before being finished off with a wrecking ball.
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Photo: Provincial Archives of Alberta / No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.