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Barrie Colts Barrie Flyers Arena Name: Barrie Arena |
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| Barrie Arena |
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| What was the Arena Like? |
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Barrie Arena stands on a street corner in the old section of Barrie. It looks like many other arenas around the province with a round, gradually sloping roof and lots of aluminum siding. There is also a mural painted along the whole side of the building. Once you go inside, though, you realise that this place is different from any other building you've been to. When we went to the Barrie Arena to visit, we walked in the front door and the place was absolutely rocking with crowd noise. What could be causing that noise? Try about a hundred parents at a kids' game. Barrie Arena is designed for sound, and the noise must be unbelievable with a full house. Structurally the arena is old and getting older. Just about everything in the building is made of wood, including the seats, the floors, and the roof. The seats are all long wooden benches with backrests, painted dark green. The arena seems to glow in the dim light. The score-clock is essentially non-existent. The seats run down both sides of the building, and in one end is a warm room for kids, nursing mothers, and wusses. The Arena's past history isn't completely on display, but it is there. The Barrie Flyers' old Memorial Cup banners are on display and so is some other memoribilia from Barrie's more recent minor hockey past. Finally, in the arena office is something that no one should ever consider missing - the old Barrie Flyers' team portraits from the early 1950's, one of which features an impossibly young-looking Don Cherry. Barrie Arena is the oldest-looking former OHL arena I have yet been to, but it's well worth a look if you're in the neighbourhood. Listen to the raucous parents when the kids are on the ice and wonder why Barrie fans can't be that loud at the antiseptic Molson Centre. |
How To Get There |
| From Hwy-400: Hwy-400 to Dunlop St. exit 96. East on Dunlop to Barrie Arena. Arena is on the right side of the road. |
| Inside Barrie Arena |
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| What's it Used For Today? |
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Barrie Arena closed in December 2007 and will most likely be demolished over the summer of 2008 to make way for a new fire station. I will have updates as they are made available. Right up until recently, the arena was used around the clock for minor and community hockey, plus the competitive teams - the Barrie minor teams are still called the "Flyers". As for the OHL team, they were affiliated with the Boston Bruins and withdrew from Barrie in 1960 to become the Niagara Falls Flyers. They are now the Sudbury Wolves. Barrie Arena was also briefly used by the Barrie Colts in their inaugural season. The Molson Centre didn't open until December and so the Arena was brought out for three months as a temporary home. |
Feedback |
If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at  and I'll update the guide. |
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Copyright © Kevin Jordan
2002-08. |