Dey's Arena
Encyclopedia
Dey's Arena, also known as Dey Brothers Rink, Dey's Skating Rink and The Arena, were a series of ice rinks and arena
s located in Ottawa
, Ontario
, that hold importance in the early development of the organized sport of ice hockey
in Canada. It was the home arena of the Ottawa Hockey Club
, variously known as the Generals, the Silver Seven and the Senators from the 1890s until 1923, although it is known that games were also played at the Rideau Skating Rink
in the 1890s and the Aberdeen Pavilion
in 1904. The rink and arenas were built by two generations of the Dey family, who were prominent in Ottawa at the time, with a thriving boat works business serving the lumber business. The Dey family also played hockey.
at Waller Street and Theodore Street (today's Laurier Avenue), next to the Dey Family boat works. The natural ice rink surface was 150 feet (45.7 m) by 60 feet (18.3 m). This location is today occupied by the Canadian Department of Defence headquarters, just south of the Federal Conference Centre
, the old Union Station railway station. The rink was torn down in the fall of 1895 to make way for the Canada Atlantic Railway
, which opened a station at Rideau Street and the Canal and laid rail tracks alongside the eastern bank of the Canal. The last hockey game at the rink was held on March 30, 1895. The boat works moved to Patterson Creek at Bank Street
in Ottawa.
, which opened in New York
one month earlier. Dey's Skating Rink was located at Bay and Ann (now Gladstone) Streets, the location at the time being on the city outskirts, but served by city streetcars.
The first hockey game at the arena was between the Ottawa Capitals
and Cornwall, Ontario
on December 19, 1896. The arena was the site of the first Stanley Cup
win by the Ottawa Hockey Club
, in 1903, and the site of numerous Stanley Cup challenge matches during the 'Silver Seven's' reign from 1903–1907, including the famous 1905 challenge of Dawson City.
The arena was the site of the final game of the 1906 championship playoff between Ottawa and the Montreal Wanderers
, a game labelled the "Greatest Hockey Game in History." by The Sporting News. The Toronto Globe called it the "greatest game of hockey ever played on Canadian ice, or any other." Although Ottawa entered the game nine goals down in a two-game playoff, fan interest was exceptional. For the game, the rink was modified to hold more spectators, including setting up temporary bleachers, removing the grandstand which had been used as a press box, and the installation of a press box attached to the rafters. Over 5,400 would attend the game and the top $2 tickets were being sold for $10. Betting interest was high, including one $12,000 bet. Remarkably, Ottawa tied the series with ten minutes to play before two power play goals in the last two minutes by Lester Patrick
would win it for the Wanderers.
The rink was destroyed twice. In 1902, a violent summer windstorm flattened the building. It was rebuilt in time for the 1902–03 hockey season. The replacement rink followed the ice dimensions of the Montreal Arena
and had semi-circular ends, rather than squared with rounded corners. In 1920, fire destroyed the rink, after which it was not rebuilt. Today, the city block it occupied is mostly single-family houses. Nearby, the McNabb arena and community centre was built one block west at Percy Street and Gladstone and is operated by the City of Ottawa
.
In 1997, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the rink's location at the corner of Bay and Gladstone. The plaque was stolen on April 14, 2008 and its pedestal destroyed. A new memorial marker was installed and dedicated on November 17, 2008.
, on the location of today's Confederation Park, across the street from the current Ottawa city hall. This is very close to the location of the first rink, on the opposite bank of the Canal. It was leased from landowner Esther Sherwood for the rate of $166.66 per month, for twenty years.
The Arena opened on January 11, 1908 for a game between Ottawa and the Montreal Wanderers
, the top rivalry of the day. The last Senators game at the arena was held on March 10, 1923, after which the team moved to the Ottawa Auditorium. The Ottawa Auditorium was also built by the Deys, who were part owners of the Ottawa Senators
. This third rink was torn down by the federal government at the end of the lease in 1927 to make way for the Driveway along the Rideau Canal.
The Arena was used for the sports of ice skating and figure skating as well as hockey. The 1912 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were held in February 1912 at the Arena.
. The January 1905 challenge is likely the most famous between Ottawa and the Dawson City Nuggets, in which Frank McGee scored a still-record 14 times in a 23-2 romp, the highest scoring Stanley Cup game ever. The Dawson City team had travelled for twenty four days to reach Ottawa. The Stanley Cup was famously drop-kicked by Harvey Pulford
into the Rideau Canal
, after a banquet following the game at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Club which was located nearby at Laurier and Elgin.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
s located in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, that hold importance in the early development of the organized sport of ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
in Canada. It was the home arena of the Ottawa Hockey Club
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
, variously known as the Generals, the Silver Seven and the Senators from the 1890s until 1923, although it is known that games were also played at the Rideau Skating Rink
Rideau Skating Rink
The Rideau Skating Rink was an indoor skating and curling rink located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first indoor skating rinks in Canada, opened in January 1889...
in the 1890s and the Aberdeen Pavilion
Aberdeen Pavilion
The Aberdeen Pavilion is an exhibition hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Overlooking the Rideau Canal, it is located in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa's historic fairgrounds...
in 1904. The rink and arenas were built by two generations of the Dey family, who were prominent in Ottawa at the time, with a thriving boat works business serving the lumber business. The Dey family also played hockey.
First rink
The first rink was opened on December 20, 1884, and was located on the Rideau CanalRideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
at Waller Street and Theodore Street (today's Laurier Avenue), next to the Dey Family boat works. The natural ice rink surface was 150 feet (45.7 m) by 60 feet (18.3 m). This location is today occupied by the Canadian Department of Defence headquarters, just south of the Federal Conference Centre
Government Conference Centre
The Government Conference Centre is a government building in downtown Ottawa, Canada, located at 2 Rideau Street. It is situated at the intersection of Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal, just a short distance from the Parliament buildings and Confederation Square, and across the street from...
, the old Union Station railway station. The rink was torn down in the fall of 1895 to make way for the Canada Atlantic Railway
Canada Atlantic Railway
The Canada Atlantic Railway Company , the creation of lumber baron John Rudolphus Booth, was for a short period an important participant in the development of trans-Canada railway systems at the end of the 19th century...
, which opened a station at Rideau Street and the Canal and laid rail tracks alongside the eastern bank of the Canal. The last hockey game at the rink was held on March 30, 1895. The boat works moved to Patterson Creek at Bank Street
Bank Street (Ottawa)
Bank Street is the major north-south road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South...
in Ottawa.
Dey's Skating Rink: Second rink, first arena
The second rink, an arena, opened on December 17, 1896. 'Dey's Skating Rink', its proper name, held an estimated 3,500 spectators. The ice rink measured 200 feet (61 m) by 81 feet (24.7 m), one of the largest indoor ice surfaces in Canada at the time. The arena featured a bandstand that could be used as a press box, and elevated seats. This was possibly the first arena designed for ice hockey in Canada, the second in North America after the St. Nicholas RinkSt. Nicholas Rink
The St. Nicholas Rink, also called the St. Nicholas Arena, was an indoor ice rink, and later a boxing arena in New York, New York, from 1896 until 1962. The rink was the second ice rink utilizing mechanically frozen ice for its surface in North America, , enabling a longer season for skating sports...
, which opened in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
one month earlier. Dey's Skating Rink was located at Bay and Ann (now Gladstone) Streets, the location at the time being on the city outskirts, but served by city streetcars.
The first hockey game at the arena was between the Ottawa Capitals
Ottawa Capitals
The Ottawa Capitals were an early amateur senior men's ice hockey club playing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from the 1890s until 1920. The club would challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1897, but abandon its challenge after one game, after it lost 15–2. It would later precipitate the breakup of the...
and Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
on December 19, 1896. The arena was the site of the first Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
win by the Ottawa Hockey Club
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
, in 1903, and the site of numerous Stanley Cup challenge matches during the 'Silver Seven's' reign from 1903–1907, including the famous 1905 challenge of Dawson City.
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
, a game labelled the "Greatest Hockey Game in History." by The Sporting News. The Toronto Globe called it the "greatest game of hockey ever played on Canadian ice, or any other." Although Ottawa entered the game nine goals down in a two-game playoff, fan interest was exceptional. For the game, the rink was modified to hold more spectators, including setting up temporary bleachers, removing the grandstand which had been used as a press box, and the installation of a press box attached to the rafters. Over 5,400 would attend the game and the top $2 tickets were being sold for $10. Betting interest was high, including one $12,000 bet. Remarkably, Ottawa tied the series with ten minutes to play before two power play goals in the last two minutes by Lester Patrick
Lester Patrick
Curtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...
would win it for the Wanderers.
The rink was destroyed twice. In 1902, a violent summer windstorm flattened the building. It was rebuilt in time for the 1902–03 hockey season. The replacement rink followed the ice dimensions of the Montreal Arena
Montreal Arena
The Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Wood Avenue. It was likely one of the first arenas designed expressly for hockey, opening in 1898...
and had semi-circular ends, rather than squared with rounded corners. In 1920, fire destroyed the rink, after which it was not rebuilt. Today, the city block it occupied is mostly single-family houses. Nearby, the McNabb arena and community centre was built one block west at Percy Street and Gladstone and is operated by the City of Ottawa
City of Ottawa
The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws...
.
In 1997, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the rink's location at the corner of Bay and Gladstone. The plaque was stolen on April 14, 2008 and its pedestal destroyed. A new memorial marker was installed and dedicated on November 17, 2008.
The Arena: Third rink, second arena
The third rink was built in 1907 and was built because audiences for hockey matches had out-grown the previous arena. The spectator capacity was 7,000, of which 2,500 was standing room. At the time, it was Canada's largest arena. 'The Arena', as it was called, was built on leased land on the north side of Laurier Avenue next to Rideau CanalRideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, on the location of today's Confederation Park, across the street from the current Ottawa city hall. This is very close to the location of the first rink, on the opposite bank of the Canal. It was leased from landowner Esther Sherwood for the rate of $166.66 per month, for twenty years.
The Arena opened on January 11, 1908 for a game between Ottawa and the Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
, the top rivalry of the day. The last Senators game at the arena was held on March 10, 1923, after which the team moved to the Ottawa Auditorium. The Ottawa Auditorium was also built by the Deys, who were part owners of the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
. This third rink was torn down by the federal government at the end of the lease in 1927 to make way for the Driveway along the Rideau Canal.
The Arena was used for the sports of ice skating and figure skating as well as hockey. The 1912 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were held in February 1912 at the Arena.
Stanley Cup history
The various arenas hosted the 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911 Stanley Cup challenges and the 1920 Stanley Cup Finals1920 Stanley Cup Finals
-See also:* 1919–20 NHL season* 1919–20 PCHA season* List of Stanley Cup champions...
. The January 1905 challenge is likely the most famous between Ottawa and the Dawson City Nuggets, in which Frank McGee scored a still-record 14 times in a 23-2 romp, the highest scoring Stanley Cup game ever. The Dawson City team had travelled for twenty four days to reach Ottawa. The Stanley Cup was famously drop-kicked by Harvey Pulford
Harvey Pulford
Ernest Harvey Pulford was a Canadian all-around athlete at the turn of the 20th century, winning national championships in ice hockey, lacrosse, football, boxing, paddling and rowing. He won four Stanley Cups with the Ottawa Hockey Club and championships or tournaments in every sport in which he...
into the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, after a banquet following the game at the Ottawa Amateur Athletic Club which was located nearby at Laurier and Elgin.