Farewell, Coliseum

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- The place where I learned to love the game of hockey is gone.

The New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, home to a string of professional hockey franchises, including the legendary New Haven Nighthawks, was brought down by 2,200 lbs of dynamite at 7:50 am on Saturday, January 20th.

The building was shut down for good on September 1st, 2002, but its ultimate demise has been delayed due to problems relating to the cost of the demolition, as well as concerns about the implosion's impact on nearby utilities infrastructure.

I have probably seen more games in that arena than any other place on earth. Ever since I can remember, Nighthawks games were a fixture of any winter weekend. The Coliseum is where I learned the game from my dad and my brothers. It's where I was bred up to be that peculiar type of sportsman - what we call "hockey people."

It's hard to be nostalgic about the building itself. For one, it was a barn, and a ghastly one at that - most nights, curtains hanging from the dizzyingly high ceilings covered the thousands of empty seats, and thousands that remained uncovered were still unoccupied. The building was a white elephant from the start, with its awful, rusted steel parking garage teetering on top. I will always remember that if you ever had to leave a game early, you had to ask a building employee to reverse the giant escalators that descended from the garage - they only ran in one direction, and they only started going up late in the third period. The place was hot, too. My brother played hockey for Hamden Hall Country Day School, and they played in a high school tournament at the Coliseum. All he could talk about was how sweltering it was, even down on the ice surface. You never had to bundle up to go out to a game.

When it first opened its doors on September 27th, 1972, for an exhibition game between the Nighthawks and the Minnesota North Stars, 8,114 fans packed in. That was the biggest crowd that would ever see a hockey game in New Haven. Four trips to the Calder Cup finals, and four professional franchises later, the crowds would remain thin, but rabid nonetheless. Anyone who ever attended a game there will remember the jarring profanity emanating from Section 14, positioned right behind the opposition bench and, more importantly, the penalty box. Through all the years, and all the teams that called this city home - the Nighthawks (1972-92), the Senators (1992-93) and the foolishly-named Beast (1997-99) of the American Hockey League, as well as the last gasp with the United Hockey League's Knights (2001-02) - those fans were there to offer a warm welcome to anyone, be they the Adirondack Red Wings, the Springfield Falcons or the Elmira Jackals.

In all honesty, the building was a dump, and New Haven never really took to the hockey played there like it should have. The last, giant thumbprint of the city's domineering mayor Richard C. Lee, the Coliseum was a standing testament to the fact that a cabal of enlightened city planners with a waterfall of federal money at their disposal could not fix the problems of a tortured city. This was our "redevelopment" at its worst - ugly, inhumane, and more or less a disaster before the last steel girder was even fitted into place. It died a slow death, made all the more agonizing by the fact it took more than four years to finally finish the job. It was always an eyesore; with its innards torn out, a pile of rubble sitting beneath the parking garage, it was like staring at a corpse every time you drove down I-95.

But for all its faults, all its trials, it was where you came to see hockey on a Saturday night. And for that, I am truly grateful to have shared in all the memories this building has brought to so many people.

Go Nighthawks!

Some facts about New Haven hockey:

Several NHL legends got their starts in New Haven, including Bobby Nystrom and Billy Smith of the New York Islanders, Billy O'Dwyer of the Boston Bruins, and Bernie Nicholls, who scored 41 goals in 55 games as a rookie with the Nighthawks, propelling him onto the Los Angeles Kings roster and an NHL career that would see him score over 400 goals and 1,200 points.

The Nighthawks were affiliated at various times with the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, and the Los Angeles Kings. The Beast were affiliated with the Florida Panthers. The latter franchise's main products were NHL enforcer Peter Worrell (who had barely learned to skate when he arrived in New Haven) and a former Harvard star and NHL journeyman, goalie Mike Fountain.

The Nighthawks reached the Calder Cup finals four times, in 1975, 1978, 1979 and 1989, losing to the Springfield Indians, the Maine Mariners (twice) and the Adirondack Red Wings.

Tom Colley is the franchise leader in games (534), goals (204), assists (281) and points (485).

In 1987, Nighthawks owner Joel Schiavone was given an ultimatum by Bruce McNall, owner of the parent club, the L.A. Kings (who would eventually spend 13 months in prison for fraud) - sell 3,000 season tickets, or the franchise will have to leave New Haven. Schiavone vowed to camp on the arena's roof until the required number of tickets were sold. Nine days, and a few rainstorms, later, the tickets were sold, and the franchise was saved.

When the Coliseum was first opened, the Nighthawks' first coach, Parker McDonald, took a tour of the arena with some of the building's engineers. When he mentioned the fact that there were no players benches, one engineer replied, "The players can sit in the front row of the stands."

To watch videos of the Coliseum's implosion, click here.

To listen to a local radio story about the Coliseum, click here.

Photos: Save the New Haven Coliseum, Andy Horowitz.