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Kitchener Rangers Arena Name: Kitchener Memorial Auditorium |
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| Kitchener Memorial Auditorium |
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| What's the Arena Like? |
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The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium complex is a sprawling building in older suburban Kitchener. The old main entrance has one of the best facades in hockey, with a classically inspired design and the words KITCHENER MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM spelled out above the door. In Kitchener, though, old meets new, as the KMA was given a gigantic renovation over the summer of 2002. The building was widened and private suites were added, bringing the building up to code as one of the best in the league, combining modern conveniences with old-style charm. The Aud complex also includes Centennial Stadium, which is used for football, and also includes the baseball diamond which is home to the Inter-County League's Kitchener Panthers. Inside the Aud building is a main corridor which can either lead to the Aud itself or to the smaller Kiwanis Rink, which is a community pad, or the Kinsmen Rink, which is the home of the Junior "B" Kitchener Dutchmen. There are pictures hanging all over the walls and you can feel the history of the Western Conference's oldest team bearing down upon you as you wander the halls. There are also Olympic banners from the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, who represented Canada in hockey at the 1956 games in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, and in 1960 in Squaw Valley, Calif. Once you get inside the rink itself you see one of the OHL's best arenas laid out in front of you. The seats are all gold in the lower half and red in the upper half, and they surround the rink wherever they could bolt them in. The seats themselves are pathetically tiny, and must be uncomfortable to anyone larger than average size. Views, however, are absolutely excellent. There is standing room located along the press-box side of the building at the top of the seating area, and again behind one of the nets. There is the restaurant located behind one of the goals and private boxes down the sides. The boxes and much of the new-fangled equipment in the Aud was added at part of the massive renovation project in 2002. The scoreboard is one of the league's best. There is now a video board with an excellent replay function; they also use it for "RangerVision" before the game, which is a TV program thing that psyches people up for the game. It's a weird, weird experience, but cute too. The sound system is relatively good for an older building and is not overpowering - a very much appreciated touch. Most hockey fans don't want to be blasted with teen pop every single break, and the Rangers are one of the few teams that know it. While the Aud has the youngish character of a newer building, it still shows its age in several places (and I mean that as a compliment). There are painted bricks and exposed beams in the concourses reminiscent of Maple Leaf Gardens, and there is memorabilia everywhere. The walls are a pale reddish-pink colour with blue iron columns and there are little food stands everywhere, selling the usual arena fare plus a few "made-in-Kitchener" items like Bavarian beer nuts. Mmmm... beer nuts. Washrooms are clean and plentiful. The Rangers also enjoy what is unquestionably the finest team store in the OHL, the Outpost. The Outpost is huge, and it's filled with Ranger gear. They really have thought of everything that any fan could ever want, there are souvenir items of every shape, size and colour. Prices are reasonable. If you've ever wanted anything at all with a Kitchener Rangers logo on it, the odds are that the Outpost has it. Banners hang everywhere from the ceiling, reminding you of Kitchener's long, proud history. The Rangers have numerous championship banners as well as two Memorial Cups, four "honoured" numbers and the like. They also have retired #1 for "The Fans" which in my opinion is ludicrous. The fans don't play hockey. I'm all in favour of honouring the fans, but raising a retired number for them is unmistakeably bush-league - about the only thing in Kitchener that is. The atmosphere in Kitchener is phenomenal. Loud, rowdy, raucous Ranger fans cheer wildly, boo harshly, chant, scream and do anything you'd want good fans to. The old Aud shakes when the fans get going. The Tullio Arena is uncontested as the OHL's loudest, but the Aud has a good claim at second, or at least the top 5. The best touch about the Aud, though, was one that was totally unexpected. Whenever most hockey teams at any level score a goal, the sound system instantly drowns out all cheering with a blasted foghorn and then plays either "Rock & Roll, Part II" or some dancey-techno-crap music at 1,000,000 dB. It's one of the most annoying things about any hockey experience - after a goal, the only thing making sound should be the fans. In Kitchener, though, they did one better. After every Rangers goal, the Rangers have their own song, borrowed from their namesake in New York. It's a high-tempo number with a chorus of "Whoa-oa-oa LET'S GO RANGERS!!!" The fans really get into it. Much like the "OK Blue Jays" song, it's silly but incredibly charming and cute as well. It's enough to warm any hockey fan's heart, even if you're a cold-hearted bastard like yours truly. Overall, the building manages to mix old-time character and class with new-fangled facilities, which begs the question, "Why can't they all be built like this?" The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium is one of the OHL's best rinks. I will always have pleasant memories of the KMA, as a friend and I once dropped in there at 3 AM on a car trip to check out the building. We weren't allowed in as it was summer and during the renovations and also 3 in the morning, but we did enjoy spelling out the words "Go Knights!" in giant fencepost letters in the executive parking lot. Shhhhh! |
| Future Developments |
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The Aud was renovated over the summer of 2002 to bring it up to code; there was also an addition put on. Over the summer of 2004 an addition was built which included new team offices for the Rangers. The Outpost - already the OHL's best team store - was made even larger. For the 2008 Memorial Cup, the Rangers also added more capacity by moving the press box from the back of a section of seating to an overhanging gondola, and then installing about 430 more seats where the press box was. This project is complete as of March of 2008. There has been some speculation of a new, JLC-style arena in Kitchener at some point in the future, but so far it is just speculation. |
| What Is It Like For Away Fans? |
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Ranger fans are, for the most part, excellent. They're among the league's loudest, and they boo as well as cheer. There are a few who are expert hecklers as well. The atmosphere in Kitchener at any game is fantastic. That said, there are a few bad apples in every bunch, and anywhere you get rowdy, old-time hockey fans in an old-time hockey building, the intimidation factor will go up. There wasn't much smack-talking, though, and in the Aud, the "Medium" is almost a compliment. #1 67's Fan Says: Ranger fans are all right, I guess, I went down when Ottawa played them one year. The fans were nice although I would say some made comments to us Ottawa fans and to me. But it was still pretty nice although the fans could be a little nicer. They're pretty noisy also which I liked. Intimidation Factor: MEDIUM |
| Inside the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium |
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How To Get There |
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From 401 east : Exit on Highway 8 west Kitchener/Waterloo. Exit off Highway 8 and go west to Kitchener (right hand side). Take Ottawa Street exit and turn left onto Ottawa Street. The Auditorium is on the Right. From 401 west: Exit on Highway 8 West Kitchener/Waterloo. At Ottawa Street exit turn left. Auditorium is on the Right. Parking is on-site and free. |
| Admission Prices |
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Adult $17.00 Student (13-24) $15.00 Senior $15.00 Child (Under 12) $13.00 |
| Another Look Inside the Aud |
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| Franchise History |
| The Kitchener Rangers were once the legendary Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters in the 1950's, but they moved to Kitchener in 1963-64. They recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary. |
| Honoured Numbers |
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Much like the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Rangers do not "retire" numbers but they do have five numbers of honoured former players hanging from the Aud rafters. They are: 3 Scott Stevens 6 Paul Coffey 7 Bill Barber 19 Larry Robinson 21 Jim McGeachie 22 Gary Crosby |
| Local Rivals |
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Guelph and Kitchener are the closest two teams, geographically speaking, in the Western Conference, and therefore the rivalry can be heated. Kitchener also is a rival to London, Owen Sound and Erie. |
About the City |
| By Kitchenerite Eagle Vision: Kitchener was originally known as Berlin, Ontario, and later changed and split into the twin cities of Kitchener, and to the north, Waterloo. The name was changed for patriotic reasons during the First World War and was renamed for Lord Kitchener, one of the heroes of the Boer War and Secretary of War in the British government at the time. Waterloo is generally though of as the newer region, with better economic prosperity, a booming high-tech industry, suburbs and two universities (Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier). Kitchener, on the other hand, is a city with more of the familiar mix of big business along with manufacturing firms. The border runs down the middle of the combined city, and the two cities blend together as one seamlessly. The downtown core of Kitchener and uptown core of Waterloo run along the same street, King St., which runs from the 401 through the oldest parts of town and into St. Jacobs, an area known for the Amish who account for high amounts of the population in the area to the north of the city. Despite the city's fragmented and often confusing system of roads which hardly resembles the grids found in most North American inner cities, the highway system is one of the most sophisticated of all of the mid-sized cities in Canada. One area where residents of Kitchener-Waterloo have always been shortchanged is shopping. The two cities combine for nearly 300,000 residents and yet there are only two larger-sized malls - Fairview in Kitchener and Conestoga in Waterloo. The obvious attraction in Kitchener would be Oktoberfest - traditionally Kitchener has been thought of as a community where with a disproportionate amount of Germans. Truth be known, Kitchener and Waterloo have both become extremely multicultural over the years, especially for mid-sized Ontario communities. Kitchener was once known for the world's longest bar (Lulu's). Boxer Lennox Lewis might be the most successful Kitchener athlete, while 3-time Stanley Cup champion Scott Stevens is the most successful hockey player to have been born in Kitchener. He also played junior in Kitchener for the Rangers. The longest-serving Prime Minister in Canadian history, William Lyon MacKenzie King, was also born in Kitchener. Quirky facts: King and Weber streets run parallel through both cities end to end and cross each other twice. Kitchener-Waterloo would be a prime candidate for pizza capital of the world. In 1960 the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen represented all of Canada at the Winter Olympics, winning the silver medal. For Kitchener-Waterloo information please visit the Tourist Board's website. |
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
2002-06. |