USA Hockey Magazine

March 2013

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100 YEARS young As The Calumet Colosseum Prepares To Celebrate Its Centennial Birthday, It Continues To Serve As The Center Of A Proud Hockey Universe By Craig Stancher N ear the northern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in the heart of an area known as the "Copper Country" due to its long history with the mining industry, you'll find a simple, single sheet of ice that boasts a hearty hockey history. There, in the small, blue-collar town of Calumet, stands a rink featuring turn-ofthe-century charm, eye-catching architecture and a lobby wallpapered with photos of local teams ranging from pre-World War I to the present day. That rink is the Calumet Colosseum, a structure built in 1913 that is regarded as the oldest continually used rink in North America, and continues to serve as a point of pride in this hockey-crazed community. In a day and age when arenas built in the 1960s or 1970s are often considered outdated, the Calumet Colosseum continues to draw praise from locals and visitors alike due to its old-timey charm. "The history that the building holds within its walls is remarkable and tells quite a story of both the progression and development of hockey within the area," said Amy Richards, who has four children in the Calumet Hockey Association. "There is something about walking into that building; the smell, the color, the visual effects that just make you feel like you stepped back in time." Construction on the facility began in 1913, with the first official game being contested in early January 1914 between the Calumet Wolverines and the Portage Lake Pioneers, a pair of senior league men's teams. 22 March. 2013 1 Originally owned by a series of private investors, the Colosseum was sold to the State of Michigan in 1942 following a fire at the local National Guard Armory. In need of a new home for the outfit, the state purchased the building and changed its name to the Calumet Armory. For the next 60-plus years, the Calumet Hockey Association would lease the ice surface each season from October to April. In the summer of 2005, Calumet Township traded 12 acres of property, on which a new National Guard Armory would be built, in exchange for ownership of the rink, and promptly switched the name back to the Calumet Colosseum. With a moniker like the "Copper USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Country" it's readily apparent that the area has always been strongly tied to its copper mining heritage. In fact, the local high school still pays homage to those roots by referring to its sports teams as the Calumet Copper Kings. That bond was further strengthened in 1968, when the Colosseum first installed artificial ice. At the time, the foundry for the Calumet and Hecla (C&H) Mining Company was located directly across the street from the Colosseum. A major player in the mining game for more than 100 years, C&H was in the midst of an employee strike that would eventually shut the company's doors for good. Photos By Craig Stancher

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