Cambridge Redhawks
Rink: Galt Arena Gardens
Capacity: 1,100
Built: 1922
League: GOJHL
City: Cambridge, Ontario
Home Of: Cambridge Redhawks
Games Attended: 2
First Game: September 14, 2014 Guelph vs Barrie (OHL Preseason)
Most Recent Game: September 13, 2025 vs St.Catharines
Unique Arena #34
GOHL Arena #2
The title of oldest hockey arena in the world is a disputed one. A quick google search will tell you that the oldest is Matthews Arena in Boston. That arena originally opened in 1910 but was destroyed by fire and its current replacement opened its doors on New Years Day 1922. That same month the Galt Arena Gardens in modern day Cambridge, Ontario opened and claims the title of oldest continuously operating hockey arena in the world (they even have a banner stating said claim). The arena sits in what was the town of Galt which amalgamated with other nearby towns into the city of Cambridge, Ontario. The rink is in the south end of the city in a quiet neighborhood that feels secluded from the hustle and bustle of town. It has two small parking lots on either side as well as some nearby baseball diamonds. Directly across the street just feet from the main entrance sits a row of houses. This can make taking photos of the gorgeous front facade a tad difficult.
Immediately inside the main doors there is a small ticket booth to your right. If you are anywhere beyond the third or fourth person standing in a lineup for tickets, then you are standing outside on the sidewalk. After passing by the ticket booth you enter a small concourse that during Redhawks game night has some tables setup as a makeshift team store and 50/50 tables. While this concourse does go around the entire arena at ice level the sides are cut off from fan access to keep them away from the team dressing rooms which are on opposite sides of the building. There is an entrance way to the seating bowl at ice level in one of the corners and you can head up to the main concourse from there or you can use stairways in the two corners of the building closest to the main entrance. Above the main entrance sits a large glassed-in lounge and bar area which has an elevated view of the ice and is full of tons of memorabilia from the century old building. The bowl itself is small, just five rows of seats laid out in a U shape. There is a small section of bleacher seats under the lounge area which were surprisingly packed for the game I attended. There is a gorgeous wooden roof that actually has windows near the top. You wouldn’t really notice any natural lighting coming in unless the arena lights themselves were turned off but it’s a neat feature, nonetheless.
The far end of the concourse has more historic memorabilia in the corners including the original front doors of the arena and the old barrel flood machine from the pre-Zamboni days. Of course, one of the main artifacts from the arena is a large photo of Mr.Hockey himself Gordie Howe in his Detroit Red Wings uniform. Howe before his days with Detroit played hockey in this arena for the Galt Red Wings in 1944-45. Another famous Red Wing Kirk Maltby also has a large photo of himself hanging alongside Gordie’s as Maltby played minor hockey here before his big-league days. The arena used to seat far more people with benches that ran at a much steeper angle right to the back walls of the building. However, a massive renovation took place during the 1997-98 season to modernize the arena and secure its future. In doing so capacity was reduced by nearly half. But without that renovation the arena may not have lasted. During the Redhawks game I attended in 2025 there was one corner of the bowl cut off for a new renovation. I was told it might be for a new elevator. Despite the fact that the rink is now into its second century these upgrades have secured its future and the rink shows no signs of closing anytime soon.
The Redhawks game I attended had a crowd of some 600 people, mostly families who were there for a night out. Not exactly a hardcore hockey crowd so the atmosphere wasn’t the greatest, but the Redhawks had support and the crowd went home happy with a late overtime victory.
Games Attended
September 14, 2014 – Guelph 2 – Barrie 0 (OHL Preseason)
September 13, 2025: Cambridge 2 – St.Catharines 1 OT