Visited OHL Arenas
Kingston Memorial Centre - Kingston, ON
The Kingston Memorial Centre was built in 1950 and hosted the Canadians/Raiders/Frontenacs of the OHL from their inception in 1973 until the now-named Slush Puppie Place was opened downtown in 2008. Today it is still home to the Queen’s University hockey teams. I never got to an OHL game here, but I was told that it was one of the most run-down arenas of the OHL even decades before it was replaced. I originally stopped in to check the rink out in 2011, and more recently swung by for a better exterior shot in the summer of 2025.
London Gardens - London, ON
London Gardens opened in 1963 and was home of the London Nationals turned Knights from their inception until 2002, when Canada Life Place was built downtown. Sitting at the south end of the city next to the 401, it is laid out very similarly to arenas in Sherbrooke and Brantford, and was apparently a madhouse in its heyday. After the Knights left in 2002 it eventually was repurposed as a Velodrome in 2005 and has been in the state you see below for the last 20 years. However, there was recent news that the Velodrome would be closing, so the end might be near for the old London Gardens. I originally got to see the inside of the Gardens in 2009 on my way home from a two-game trip to Saginaw and Plymouth. I stopped back in one more time for a brighter interior shot in the mid 2010’s.
