The Calumet Colosseum is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

arena in

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the ...

, built in 1913. It is considered the oldest operating continuous-use ice rink in North America. It was only a few years younger than the

Matthews Arena Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building still in use, as well as the oldest arena in use for ice hockey. The arena opened in 1910 on wha ...

, which opened in 1910 and then burned down in 1918. The building is a three-story,

barrel roof A barrel roof is a curved roof that, especially from below, is curved like a cut-away barrel. They have some advantages over dome roofs, especially being able to cover rectangular buildings, due to their uniform cross-section. Barrel vault ...

structure. It has a seating capacity of 700.

History

Construction of the Colosseum began in 1913 with the formal opening on January 1, 1914. The first game was played on January 6, between the Calumet Wolverines and the Portage Lake Pioneers. In 1942, the National Guard armory in Calumet burned down and the Colosseum was sold to the State of Michigan. The name was changed to the Calumet Armory and it was used by the Calumet Detachment of the

Michigan National Guard The Michigan National Guard consists of the Michigan Army National Guard and the Michigan Air National Guard. The State adjutant general is Major general Paul D. Rogers. Units Michigan Army National Guard units include: * Recruiting Office: B ...

Artificial ice An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

was installed in 1968. In 2005, Calumet Township traded 12 acres of land for a new armory in exchange for the arena, and reverted the name to Calumet Colosseum. In 2019, Calumet was the winner of

Kraft Hockeyville USA ''Kraft Hockeyville'' is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning community ...

, winning $150,000 for upgrades to the Colosseum. The arena received a new ice plant, a new heating system, sound system, and refurbished locker rooms. As part of winning the contest, the arena held an NHL pre-season game between the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

on September 26, 2019. The Red Wings won the game, 4-1.

References

External links

* Sports venues in Michigan Indoor ice hockey venues in Michigan 1913 establishments in Michigan Buildings and structures in Houghton County, Michigan Armories in Michigan {{Coord, 47.2438, -88.4506, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title