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Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Arena Name: Sault Memorial Gardens |
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| Sault Memorial Gardens |
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| What was the Arena Like? |
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The Sault Memorial Gardens was the OHL's second-oldest arena and was located in the heart of downtown Sault Ste. Marie, next to the new Steelback Centre. It was across the street from the Station Mall, which is Sault's main shopping mall. The Gardens was also within short walking distance of the station for the Agawa Canyon Railway and the St. Mary's River, which contains the famous Sault Locks. The Gardens was an imposing art moderne building with several coats of whitewash paint on the exterior. The main entrance on Queen Street has a large tower which has a beacon lit within it, and acts as a part of the Sault's war memorial. When the Gardens was demolished, the tower remained, and is still a beacon for the city. Inside the tower is a small hall of honour to remember the war dead. The rear side of the arena had a large Greyhounds logo and a list of all the years that Sault teams have won league championships and the Memorial Cup. When you first entered through the doors you saw wrought-iron gates and a large ticket office. The main lobby was cozy and small, and once through the gates you saw the small team store, a snack bar, and a large sign that says "Welcome to the Home of the Soo Greyhounds", along with a lot of paw prints. From the lobby you could either climb stairs that led up to the main top concourse, or simply walk down a hallway and emerge at ice level. The first view of the interior of the Gardens was as impressive as any in the league. The ceiling was high and covered in reflective silver cladding, and there were well over a dozen championship banners hanging from it in addition to the four retired numbers. All of the seats were painted different shades of blue, starting in a medium blue near the ice and lightening to a barely-there sky blue near the top. All seats were wood, and apart from the first few rows, they weren't very comfortable. The last row of each section simply had a flat wooden bench as a seat, and in the ends most seats seemed to be a couple of two-by-fours nailed together into a vague seat shape. Saginaw's movie theatre seats these were not. Another strange aspect of the seating area is that the arena had more seats in the ends than on the sides, but the difference in elevation was not levelled by steps but by a ramp. As a result of this (or possibly just bad planning?) there were four full sections in the Gardens in which every single seat was tilted on a diagonal angle. If you were unlucky enough to have a seat in one of those sections you had to be careful not to slide off the end of the bench! The building specialised in crazily-cantilevered boxes and platforms hanging over the ice. In addition to a press box and what appeared to be a small number of private suites, there were small booths all over the ceiling. They must have provided a fantastic view. The arena's concourse ran around the top of the seating area. The Hounds' team offices were located in one end of the arena, and there were trophy cases and such displayed around the concourse. There were also signs everywhere - "Go Hounds Go" - "This is where legends are born" - and so on. The Greyhounds took their tradition seriously in the old building, and one hopes they bring that with them to the new home. The best part of the building sat high above one end, though - there was a memorial fresco featuring stained-glass and an angel, commemorating the war dead. It was a beautiful reminder of the "Memorial" purposes of the Gardens. The arena's peripherals were poor, as might be expected from an old and unrenovated building. Descending into the washrooms was almost a mediaeval experience as you dropped into the dank bowels of the Gardens. The scoreclock was old and had a number of burnt-out bulbs, plus it was never designed to display player numbers in the penalty slot so it was clearly below average. Paint was peeling and while the building was kept clean, it would have needed a lot of work to bring it up to modern standards. Sound quality was average; not murky or difficult to hear, but not clear and precise either. The announcer was fine - not annoying in the slightest. I hope they brought him to the new rink with them. There also were fewer ads than at most OHL buildings, which is especially appreciated by yours truly, a fan of the Knights of corporate sponsorship. I don't generally mention the food at most OHL buildings as I'm not a fan of arena food anyway and it's too expensive to eat most of it, but it would be a gross disservice to the Gardens not to mention the eats. Not only was the food good - delicious Italian sausages with real sauerkraut and hot peppers, for example - but it was ridiculously cheap. You can eat a full meal at the Gardens for the price of a small beer in London or Ottawa. Somehow I doubt this will still be true at the new building. The Sault Memorial Gardens is now consigned to the history books. A new arena in Sault Ste. Marie has guaranteed the future of the Hounds for decades to come, and while it is a shame to lose such a historic and beautiful old building, it was obvious that the Greyhounds would not have been able to compete with newer rinks while playing in the old Gardens. The old rink's front facade was beautiful, the war memorial moving, the food good and cheap and the atmosphere fun, but it was clearly not up to modern standards. Along with its northern counterpart in Sudbury, the Sault Memorial Gardens was old but never beaten. The Gardens stood not only as a tribute to the fallen soldiers of the wars, but also as a tribute to the resilient spirit of Northern Ontario's distant OHL hockey teams, which face their own obstacles with humour and with pride. It fell honourably and with dignity, and its tower still shines out into the northern winter night, a reminder of the history of Sault hockey. Sault Memorial Gardens by Sports Nut, Arena Correspondent I am keeping this section entirely intact as it was sent to me originally. The famous Soo Memorial Gardens is located in the heart of downtown Sault Ste Marie, on Queen Street. Behind it, to the south, is the biggest mall in the area, the Station Mall, and Bay Street. The arena, is white and grey, with parts being darker colours. It's similar in nature to the Windsor arena, at least in shape. The parking is very solid, as there are 2 medium sized lots (100-150 cars combined?) next to the arena east and west, and the mall parking lot south of it. When you walk into the main entrance of the arena, the rather tiny box office is located to your right. Last time I was there, it was all manual, as opposed to computer ticket processing. There was a box with slots in it, and tickets for individual sections were out in the open (if you wanted Sec 17 Row A, for instance, just pick a ticket out of that cell on the grid). To get into the lobby of the arena, you have to venture past a solid metal barrier, where they take your ticket. (if you really want to see the arena during non-game times, there are entrances on the sides of the building you can go through to walk around the arena, though) Right in front of you as you enter the lobby is the program sellers as well as a consession stand, which was large, I must say!! Selection was nice, and prices were reasonable. The souvenir shop is just to the right of the main entrance inside the gates. It's a small room of all glass, so you can see what merchandise and such they sell without walking in. Nice touch!! Great selection of clothing and even items from teams around the OHL. The pricing was competitive, so that was respectable. To get to the seats, there are stairs on the east and west sides of the lobby to tops of sections, as well as entrances in the lobby to ice level. When you enter the seating area at the top, you're in awe of the atmosphere. You can almost feel the tradition and hear players like Wayne Gretzky skating around on the ice. Truly remarkable, only captured in older arenas such as Soo and Windsor to this point for me. The Hounds team office is in the north end at the top of the sections located there. Right next to the offices is one of the concession stands in the arena, with a solid selection. Oh, and THEY KEEP THE LIDS ON THE DAMN BOTTLES!!!!!!!!!! I hate when Ottawa and London took the caps off....arghhhh. The walkways around the arena are very narrow, as getting one person through there at a time was a challenge. The seats and walkways around the top of the arena slope down, as well, towards center ice. Quite the odd arrangement, not duplicated in any arena I've been to so far. The seating at the Gardens is odd, to say the least. There are a lot of old wooden seats and benches, which are all over the place, so no big deal. However, the sloping of some of the seats towards center rink presents a unique challenge. As well, in the corners, are added seats above the last row. They appear to be a few rows of wooden seats which extend a few feet above the walkway. Quite different, no question. As well, there are some seats in the arena that were 2-some, meaning 2 people per seat. The seats are all light blue, IIRC, and for the most part, comfortable. The old beams at the top of the sections provide the little touch that only older arenas seem to duplicate. I love that!! Media-wise... the press boxes are located in the rafters on the E and W sides. The home bench and penalty box are located in the east side and the visiting bench on the west side. One remarkable thing about the benches, IMO, is that people can walk right up to them. There is a walkway along the ice level and folks can walk right into the benches if nobody is looking. (btw, the view from the benches is breathtaking!!!) If you travel through the halls under the seats, you come across both locker rooms(halls are easily accessed, btw). If you wish to talk to Hounds players after a game, might as well wait in the lobby by the main entrance, as nobody is allowed inside the curtain around the locker room. Visiting teams, though, have an easier time with fans. No curtain there, IIRC. Now, if you walk more under the stands, you will find the washrooms. I mention these because they were simply huge. I was very impressed with the size, if not the modern style (very basic, old-style washrooms). As well, you'll find the arena lounge, with is in the south end of the arena near the Zamboni entrance. A reception hall for weddings, sometimes, it's a quite little room with a lot of local historical sports figures pictures on the wall. Nice for any history buff!! One last thing, about security....hahahaha!!! They appear to be guys in their early to mid 20's with this "I'm the boss!!!!" attitude. I blew my blue horn during warmups on the last road trip, and was immediately told "you can't blow this here! it disturbs fans." Sorry man, didn't realize it was a library...Shhhhhhh.... The Memorial Gardens is one of those arenas that I think no old-time hockey fan should miss out on. I have no idea how long it will be standing for, so get there when you can. I don't say this often, but the Soo Gardens and the Windsor Arena are the two I will say it for! |
| Sault Gardens Commemorative Logo |
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How To Get There |
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From US/Canada Bridge: Bridge ends into Huron St. South (right) on Huron to Bay Street. Then left onto Bay Street. Follow Bay St. to the back entrance (Bay Street Entrance) to the arena. Arena will be on the North (left) side of the street. From Hwy. 17 Westbound: Hwy-17 to Trunk Rd. exit. South on Trunk to Wellington. West (right) on Wellington to Bruce St. Turn left (south) on Bruce St. Go 2 blocks to Queen St. West. Sault Memorial Gardens is on the east (right) side of the street. From Hwy. 17 Eastbound (south): Hwy 17 to Great Northern Road exit. South on Great Northern Rd. (turns into Elm) to Wellington St. West (right) on Wellington to Bruce St. South (left) on Bruce 2 blocks to Queen St. West. Sault Memorial Gardens is on the east (right) side of the street. There is a small lot on-site, but most patrons park in the massive Station Mall parking lot across the street. |
| Inside the Sault Memorial Gardens |
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What's It Used For Today? |
| Following the final game at the Sault Gardens where the final goal was scored in overtime by the London Knights' David Bolland to eliminate the Greyhounds from the 2006 playoffs, the Gardens continued to be used for the remainder of the minor hockey season. The last hockey game played at the old rink was by one of the many children's groups that used it throughout its history. After all was said and done, demolition began almost immediately, and the Gardens was ripped down unceremoniously over the summer of 2006. The angel and war memorial plaques and sculptures were moved to the Steelback Centre, while the only piece that was spared as it had been was the famous Memorial Tower, which was refurbished and re-dedicated with a historical plaque. Its beacon still welcomes the faithful to every Greyhounds' home game, while the rest of the site of the old rink is used as parking for the new one. |
| The Site of Sault Memorial Gardens |
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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
2002-07. |