Cherry Hill Arena
Encyclopedia
The Cherry Hill Arena was an indoor arena located in Cherry Hill
, New Jersey
, built in 1959.
It was originally known as the Ice House and renamed the Delaware Valley Gardens before assuming its most familiar name. The arena, which seated 4,416, was the home of the short-lived Jersey Larks of the Eastern Hockey League
in 1960-61 and hosted occasional home games of the NBA Philadelphia Warriors. In 1964 EHL hockey returned to the arena in the form of the Jersey Devils, who would be the arena's longest-lasting tenants, surviving until the EHL folded in 1973. Early in the 1973-1974 hockey season, the New York Golden Blades of the World Hockey Association
moved to the arena and played there as the New Jersey Knights for the rest of the season. By 1978 the arena had been renamed The Centrum. The Jersey Aces of the Northeastern Hockey League began the 1978-79 season as tenants at the Centrum, but moved to Hampton, Virginia
after a handful of home games.
The Cherry Hill Arena was demolished in the 1980s and replaced by a shopping center, now anchored by ShopRite
. Another shopping center, called the Centrum Shops, uses the arena's final name but is located across Brace Road from the arena site.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, built in 1959.
It was originally known as the Ice House and renamed the Delaware Valley Gardens before assuming its most familiar name. The arena, which seated 4,416, was the home of the short-lived Jersey Larks of the Eastern Hockey League
Eastern Hockey League
-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
in 1960-61 and hosted occasional home games of the NBA Philadelphia Warriors. In 1964 EHL hockey returned to the arena in the form of the Jersey Devils, who would be the arena's longest-lasting tenants, surviving until the EHL folded in 1973. Early in the 1973-1974 hockey season, the New York Golden Blades of the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
moved to the arena and played there as the New Jersey Knights for the rest of the season. By 1978 the arena had been renamed The Centrum. The Jersey Aces of the Northeastern Hockey League began the 1978-79 season as tenants at the Centrum, but moved to Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
after a handful of home games.
The Cherry Hill Arena was demolished in the 1980s and replaced by a shopping center, now anchored by ShopRite
ShopRite (United States)
ShopRite Supermarkets is a retailers' cooperative chain of supermarkets in the northeastern United States, with stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...
. Another shopping center, called the Centrum Shops, uses the arena's final name but is located across Brace Road from the arena site.