Above: The Pacific Coliseum during the 2010 Winter Olympics (8thDay/Flickr)
What comes to your mind when you think of a coliseum? I’m willing to bet images of a massive, intricate beige amphitheatre pop up. The Roman Colosseum is a world wonder for a reason; It’s impressive detail, striking size, and storied legacy are stuff of legend. But for those of us across the pond (and then across the country), what we think of as a coliseum is probably a bit smaller, and made of concrete.
It’s 1888 in Vancouver, and a new greenspace has just opened: Hastings Park. The city vowed to keep the area as a wilderness park, in accordance with the will of the land’s previous owner. Within a few years, they decided that trees weren’t all that important, so the Pacific National Exhibition and Hastings Racecourse set up shop in the park, because what screams “wilderness” more than roller coasters and questionable deep-fried foods?
Anyways, by the time of the flower power era, Vancouver was looking to up its game when it came to our national pastime, hockey. The Forum, opened in 1931, wasn’t exactly a state-of-the-art place for the then WHL team the Canucks to call home, so the city decided that a brand-new stadium, a coliseum of sorts, would be a much-deserved upgrade. And hey, maybe those NHL guys would notice the Canucks’ potential and give them a spot in the league!
Above: Happyland in 1957, the predecessor to Playland. This site would soon become the Coliseum. (Rob/Flickr)
But who could design a monolithic structure of such magnitude? Well, unfortunately the architect behind the Roman Colosseum had passed away a few hundred years back, so W.K. Knoppe was brought on to design the building. It would be bold, striking, and devoid of color, a perfect representation of the formalist art style, which emphasizes the raw materials of a piece over any added artistic flair. In this case, the material in question was a butt-load of concrete. The ground was broken in 1966, and with that, the Pacific Coliseum was under way.
January 8th, 1968. It’s been a rainy few days in Vancouver, but the crushing misery of never-ending precipitation couldn’t crush the excitement in the air for the opening of Vancouver’s first true stadium. It was marketed at the PNE as “one of the finest all-purpose exhibition and sport buildings on the west coast”, but did the people like it? Well, that depended on what was happening in the belly of the beast.
Although the Coliseum was impressive in its size and capacity, the newly formed NHL team that played the rink wasn’t exactly doing so well. “The Pacific Mausoleum” as some knew it played host to one of the NHL’s most frequently disappointing teams, the Canucks. It’s ironic that a building built to entice the NHL to open up shop in Vancouver ended up being regularly empty during the more crushing playoff seasons, but the Coliseum was more than just a rink.
Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and George Harrison were just a few of the world-renowned talents who played the stage at the Coliseum, and with such an impressive roster of artists to its name, it’s no wonder that it would shift focus towards the performing arts after the Canucks moved to General Motors Arena in 95’.
So, what’s happening with the Coliseum today? Well, despite its age becoming more noticeable with each passing year, it’s still a regular stop for tours, sporting events, and even e-sport competitions. During 2010, it was used for figure and speed skating at the Olympics, further cementing its importance to Vancouver’s history. The Coliseum won’t be around forever, but whatever takes its spot in Hastings Park next will have some big shoes to fill. Literally.
Written by Noah Schmidt
Contact: nschmidt20@my.bcit.ca