Rink Rat: York Arena Traditional Cache
Madpuck: Time to retire this series until a better idea can be made to they don't go missing.
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Located just off the walking trail near the arena and please replace as found and handle with care
Opened in 1947 the York Arena is the longest serving arena in operation in Fredericton and making it the first indoor Arena in the province. The friendly confines of York Arena is equipped with 6 dressing rooms and a friendly canteen service. With a seating capacity of 1500, this 80ft x 190ft ice surface is primarily used for hockey, ringette, ball hockey, broomball and lacrosse.
The old York Arena was completely rebuilt to modern standards in 1972 and it is still famous for being the best ice surface in the Maritimes. Vividly recall the old Export “A” Cigarette time clock, the wire mesh at the ends of the rink and the ice surface, which was then scraped by “rink rats” and a hand pulled flooder. Of course, in those days, there was no glass around the boards, nor did they wear helmets or shoulder
pads. From 1951 thru 1954, the Fredericton Capitals played six games against three NHL teams in the York
Arena; the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks. The closest game was a 5 - 5 tie against the Montreal Canadiens on February 26, 1952.
In its heyday, fans would pack the York Arena for many hockey games and even boxing events. Bulletin boards covered with black and white photos from days gone by line the walls of the hallway which serves as the arena's entrance. Some of them include photos of Willie O'Ree, who was born and raised in Fredericton and is a product of Fredericton's minor hockey system. In 1958, he became the first black hockey player to play in the National Hockey League. O'Ree is still going strong in his seventies, as he now works for the NHL's development program. Other products of Fredericton's minor hockey program who would play in the NHL are Danny Grant and the late Buster Harvey. They both played in the York Arena at one time or another,and black and white photos of both Grant and Harvey hang proudly on the bulletin board in the York Arena.
In recent years, as Fredericton has become home to more modern arena complexes, use of the York Arena has declined. Currently, an arena named after Grant and Harvey is under construction in the Kimble Drive area on the south side of the city. The York Arena was slated for closure, and the large, new Grant-Harvey complex would replace the 64-year-old York Arena. Many have lobbied to save the York Arena, and Fredericton city council recently decided to keep the doors open at the York Arena for up to another five years, on condition that it continues to remain viable. What will happen at the end of the next half decade remains to be seen.
Evidently, the City of Fredericton has made great effort and spent a large sum of money to keep the York Arena well-maintained. The facility is a beautiful one, unlike many arenas of similar age and design. The majority of the floors were clean, and the walls did not show any scars from black pucks being shot at them—a sign that the rule of no shooting of any objects in the hallways is a well-enforced rule.
Many kids actually enjoy playing in old arenas similar to the York Arena. The scoreboard which hangs just over the entrance is low enough to walk under, and the bleachers are wooden, unlike the hard plastic chairs which dominate many modern facilities. Boxes hung every so often on the steel posts at the top of the bleachers. Look closer and you discover that they were coin-operated heater systems. One dollar could buy cold spectators fifteen minutes of heat from three overhead heaters. Arenas with little to no heat and wooden bleachers are testaments of the hockey that many grew up with, and the older arenas are the way hockey still should be.
Info was drawn from many sources
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