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Eddie Bush Memorial Arena- Collingwood, ON

Eddie Bush Memorial Arena

The Eddie Bush Arena, formerly known as Collingwood Community Arena, is a historic arena in the heart of downtown Collingwood, Ontario. It opened on December 16, 1948[1] . The arena is home to the Collingwood Blues Ontario Junior Hockey League Team and several minor hockey teams from ages Chips to U18 [2] .

Construction

The arena started preparation of the site in the spring of 1947. The concrete contract bid cost $21 500, bid by Matthew Johnson and received by city council in July 1947.

In the winter of 1948, the steel construction of the building began production by the Canadian Bridge Company of Walkerville. The first arch was placed on February 9th. The 240 foot-long historical cathedral features 9 full steel arches that are 124 feet wide and includes 2 end frames.

The final set of contracts was the entrance way, which cost the town around $3200.

The original cost of the building was supposed to be $150 000, however due to extra labour and rising material costs in the end it cost the town $194 000 to build.

The arena officially opened on December 16, 1948 and is still open today.

History

The rink was renamed the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena in the 1980s after the NHL hockey player Eddie Bush who came back to Collingwood and coached in the 1970s [3].

Building

The arena holds a full size 200 ft. x 85 ft. ice surface. It has an on ice capacity of 175 and seating capacity of 1200. It also features accessible washrooms and seating. In the summer the ice is taken out and the space can be rented. Typical events hosted at the arena include: Ice Skating, Hockey, Concerts, Events, Birthday Parties, and Receptions [4].

Collingwood Blues

The Collingwood Blues are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. They were apart of the league from 1948-2011 under several different names before retiring.

Dave Steele purchased the Kingston Voyageurs in 2019 and brought the team back to Collingwood naming them the Collingwood Colts. The team rebranded to the Collingwood Blues after the 2019-2020 season.