Colisée Pepsi
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| Colisée Pepsi | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 250, boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel Quebec City, Quebec. |
| Opened | 1950 |
| Owner | |
| Former names | Colisée de Québec |
| Tenants | Quebec Aces (QHL, AHL) (1950-1971) Quebec Nordiques (WHA, NHL) (1972-1995) Quebec Rafales (IHL) (1996-1997) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1969 - 1985) Quebec Radio X (LNAH) (1996-2007) Quebec Citadelles (AHL) (1999-2002) Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) (1999-Present) |
| Capacity | 15,399 |
Colisée Pepsi (English: Pepsi Coliseum; formerly the Colisée de Québec -- Quebec (City) Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the home of the WHA and NHL Quebec Nordiques from 1972-1995, and is currently the home of the Québec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ) and Quebec Radio X of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH).
The Colisée hosts the "Québec International Peewee Hockey Tournament," annually in February. It attracts the most teams to a single event in the world, with almost 2300 young hockey players from 16 countries participating.[citation needed]
[edit] History
The arena was originally built in 1950, seating 10,000, to replace a building on the same site that had burned down a year earlier. It was known as "The House that Béliveau Built", as it was often filled to capacity in its earlier years to watch Jean Béliveau star for the Quebec Aces before moving to the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens. Two decades later, full houses came out to see Guy Lafleur fly down the ice as a member of the Quebec Remparts before he, too, would become a Hab.
The arena was heavily renovated in 1980, raising capacity to 15,750, to meet NHL standards after the Nordiques moved from the WHA to the NHL. Pepsi bought the naming rights in November 1999 (and assumed its current name on the 18th of that month), and current capacity is 15,399.
The arena hosted the 1971 Memorial Cup championship series, in which the Remparts defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings two games to none. Since the championship switched to a tournament format, the Coliseum has hosted it in 1991 and 2003. Internationally, the first game of the 1974 Summit Series between Canadian WHA all-stars and the Soviet National Team was played at the Coliseum, as were one game in each of the 1976 and 1991 Canada Cups. The arena co-hosted the 1978 IIHF World U-20 Championships with Montreal and will co-host, along with Halifax, the 2008 IIHF World Championships. Rendez-vous '87, a two game series between the NHL All-Stars and the Soviet national team, was another highlight in the building's history.
The original Colisée de Québec was built in 1910, and was the home arena of the NHL's Quebec Bulldogs.
Quebec City has entertained several proposals in recent years to return NHL ice hockey to the city; most of these proposals envision using the Colisée as a temporary home while a new NHL-ready arena is built. The Quebec Nordiques' ex-owner Marcel Aubut has talked about replacing the old Colisée in 2008, when Quebec will celebrate its 400th anniversary.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Quebec Bulldogs 1910 – 1920 |
Succeeded by Barton Street Arena |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Quebec Nordiques 1972 – 1995 |
Succeeded by McNichols Sports Arena |
| Preceded by Khodynka Arena Moscow |
IIHF World Championships Final Venue 2008 |
Succeeded by PostFinance Arena Bern, Switzerland |
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