![]() ![]() "And now we just kind of come full circle. "The first game ever there being a hockey game? Awesome," Obermeyer said. Invitations were sent to an "Extraordinary Exhibition of Professional Hockey." There was a black-tie seating section and postgame reception with champagne, imported cheese and "Hot-Boeuf Dans Sauce Ala Maple Leaf." Toronto coach Punch Imlach wore a tuxedo behind the bench, complete with top hat and tails. Toronto dressed the likes of George Armstrong, Andy Bathgate, Bob Baun, Johnny Bower, Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich and Terry Sawchuk, and it was a festive affair. The Totems lost that first exhibition to the Maple Leafs, 7-1. "It's where everything big happened that wasn't a stadium event."īut first, it was a hockey barn with a capacity of 12,700. ![]() "If you've lived in Seattle, you've been to any one of dozens of events in that building," said Jeff Obermeyer, founder of Seattle Hockey Homepage and author of three books on Seattle hockey history. The original subterranean arena was a hub of activity - sports, concerts, roller derby, you name it - and most famous as the home of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA for stretches. Much of it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, including its signature structures: the Space Needle, the 605-foot tower that defines the city skyline, and the arena roof shaped like a pyramid close to the ground. ![]() Seattle Center is a 74-acre, park-like campus of cultural attractions downtown. ![]() "Every time I think about the first home game, I feel like I just drank a few triple espressos," said Dave Eskenazi, a Pacific Northwest sports aficionado and memorabilia collector, who went to games at the Coliseum as a kid and will be in the stands Saturday. 30, 1964, and hundreds of hockey games were played there afterward.Ĭlimate Pledge Arena will be the best of both worlds, state of the art but with an old soul. The first sporting event under that roof was a hockey game, an exhibition between the Seattle Totems of the former professional Western Hockey League and the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. Yet, they will play under the same iconic roof of what was KeyArena and originally the Seattle Center Coliseum, a place with a rich history that includes a lot of hockey and even a little of the NHL going back to the beginning. ![]()
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