In the s, Detroit was experiencing a financial boom thanks to the success of the automobile industry. Detroiters were quick to embrace the rapidly growing phenomena of American professional sports. In , Navin Field later known as Tiger Stadium saw the completion of an addition that expanded its capacity from 23, seats to 30, In , the Detroit Panthers started playing football in the city. And on May 15, , the Victoria B.
This team would go on to become the Detroit Red Wings. Though the Cougars were based in Detroit, the team had a significant problem: It had nowhere to play. But city leaders soon stepped in with the vision of a far more ambitious project.
The man chosen to blend the vision of a hockey arena and a convention center was C. Howard Crane. Crane was considered a master of architectural acoustics, so it is little wonder that Olympia Stadium would be known as a place where fan excitement was amplified into a near hysterical pitch. At the time it was built, Olympia was the largest indoor skating rink in the United States, and its 77, square feet of floor space concealed 74, square feet of pipes for the freezing of ice.
Just how much money the fight drew is still in doubt. A little more than one month later, on Nov. The ceremonies that took place that night incorporated professional figure skating between periods and performances by the University of Michigan marching band. Smith went to center ice and presented Cougars coach Jack Adams with a huge floral piece.
More than 14, enthusiastic fans saw one of the most rapid exhibitions in the Olympia last night that it has been their pleasure to witness. The hockey morsel pleased their palates, and they yelled themselves hoarse. It was the spectacle itself that charmed the populace. Fans who have been satisfied with baseball, football and basketball were amazed at the speed of the thing, for hockey is new to Detroit. It is true that local fans who like the ice game have had opportunities to view it across the river, but never before has it been brought right home to them in a big way.
The athletes flashed around the big expanse of ice like shooting stars, but every electric movement meant something. They squirmed, dodged, ducked, danced and pirouetted on their flashing blades with such rapidity that at times the eye could not quite follow the maneuvers. Hockey was viewed as a Canadian curiosity, and many of the fans who attended the games came over from Windsor.
Couple that with the fact that the Cougars were an awful team, and you got many of the hometown fans rooting for the opposition. As far as some Detroiters were concerned, that made the Cougars a Canadian team. Things just have to change around here. Despite the early struggles of Detroit fans embracing hockey, the future of Olympia Stadium itself appeared to be bright as numerous bookings for circuses, bicycle racing, basketball, wrestling and boxing was supported by a citizenry with plenty of disposable income.
By , production had sunk to 1,, From October to January , the unemployment had risen from 19, to , and Detroit was declared by the U. Gone were the days of Detroiters spending extra cash on entertainment; in were the days of struggling to acquire basic necessities. As the attendance and event bookings began to dwindle, Olympia's management started to focus more on its signature attraction, hockey.
Though the team had been terrible over the course of its first six years, Adams, doing double duty as coach and general manager, had been laying the foundation for a franchise that would carve a niche in the very soul of the city.
First and foremost, it is important to understand that there wasn't just one hockey team calling Olympia home from , there were two. Having nowhere near the financial backing of other organizations that could afford talented players, Adams was determined to develop his own. With this idea in mind, the Detroit Olympics were born. The idea of having a minor league team was by no means new to sports, or even hockey in particular, but Adams insisted that his minor league team played at Olympia so he could mold his young players into the rugged, precision-style gamers that he adored.
Along with developing young players, hockey teams in the Depression era could rarely afford more than 15 men on a roster, and having a second team on hand with cheap talent readily available to replace injured players was often the difference between success and failure. In the s, the Olympics grew to have its own loyal fan base, and being able to draw 96 games worth of revenue -- instead of just the 48 that the Cougars played -- helped to carry the stadium through the most uncertain times in its history.
We're going to cry our eyes out. The Wings' contract with Detroit prevents them from operating Olympia in competition with the downtown arena, or even selling it to someone who will use it in competition. That leaves either giving it away to Wayne State or the University of Detroit - neither of which are likely to be able to afford its upkeep - or wrecking it. Each would make a nifty tax deduction. We'll probably strip it, knock it down and put up houses or something.
They shoot horses, but only when they have to. Somehow it seems obscene to raze a building that everyone admits is in great shape, that everyone admits is in great shape, that everyone admits is a super place to watch hockey. But there's money to be made and so it will be made, and if that means higher prices for worse seats in a structurally inferior building, so be it. By Tom Henderson, The Detroit Free Press, January Drew Snider writes: Before TV coverage of hockey was an almost-every-day thing, I heard a recurring complaint about the Olympia about the shape of its end boards one observer remarked: "the boards are egg-shaped and made of elastic".
By the way, the tribute to the Olympia you have at the website put me in mind of an interview I did on a sports-talk show a couple of years ago. Bruce Martyn -- for years, the radio voice of the Red Wings -- was my guest he was about to retire and the 'Wings were heading for the Stanley Cup finals -- the year they didn't win and he and Jim Robson then-newly retired as the Canucks' radio broadcaster were enthusing about what a wonderful place the Olympia was for watching hockey.
It was, no doubt, a gem. On June 30, James M. McKillen writes: A final word about Olympia Stadium - I first attended hockey games in the latter part of the 's. It was a special treat that my parents brought me to such a place as the Olympia. It may not have been the biggest arena in the time that I saw it, I believe Chicago held that distinction for a number of years, but it was certainly fan-friendly.
The noise that could be generated in that building during a playoff run could only be recounted by a fan that was there at that time.
Trust me, it was incredible. Olympia went out without fanfare. Not even a whimper. I thought at the time that it deserved better. It was truly one of the best arenas ever to be built. It's memory will live on in the minds of those who attended there. On December 28, Greg Kacir wrote: Not only was the Olympia a great hockey arena, it was an excellent venue for concerts.
The accoustics were unbelievably good. Also, it was the home of the "Ice Follies" and the "Shrine Circus" for many years. Need Tickets? Race Tracks. America West Arena. Border Cities Arena.
Boston Arena. Boston Garden. Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Chicago Coliseum. Chicago Stadium. Civic Centre Arena. Colisee de Quebec. Continental Airlines Arena. Cow Palace.
Louis Blues at the brand-new Joe Louis Arena. It was constructed in and officially opened Oct. According to HistoricDetroit. At its peak, and after an addition to the building, Olympia seated more than 13, The Detroit Pistons also briefly called Olympia home between and The Original Six franchise brought the best hockey players Canada and the U.
The mid-season move to Joe Louis Arena in was an uncommon one.
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