It was 57 years ago this month, in November 1968, the Wally Elmer Youth Centre and Cook Brothers Arena were officially opened on the same day. Hockey greats Bill & Fred (Bun) Cook did the official opening puck drop at Cook’s. The Cook brothers helped the New York Rangers win two Stanley Cups in 1928 and in 1933. Both players are honoured members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Wally Elmer, a member of the Kingston & District Sports Hall of Fame, and a Stanley Cup champion with the Victoria Cougars in 1925 (the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup) opened the Wally Elmer Youth Centre at Rideau Heights Shannon Park. Elmer was joined by Syl Apps – the Hall of Fame Toronto Maple Leafs’ great, and the provincial MLA for Kingston & The Islands in that era. Any kid that played minor hockey for the next 40 years would have a story or two about playing out of the ‘Wally Dome’ or Cook’s.

Cook’s and Wally Elmer were true examples of a neighbourhood rink, where kids could sling their hockey bag over their shoulder and walk to the rink. Those days are now gone forever in most cities across Canada thanks to the rise of the ‘multiplex’.

When the new 4-pad multiplex – the Invista Centre – opened in the West End of Kingston in 2008 off Gardiners Road (just a few months after the downtown K-Rock Centre opened), the Cook’s and Wally Elmer arenas were ultimately decommissioned. By 2010 another longstanding neighborhood rink was also closed, the Harold Harvey Arena in Portsmouth shuttered to make room for the Domino Theatre. The Church League had played its games at the ‘Harvey Gardens’ since 1961, originally with no roof and no sides when the rink opened. Having a game ‘snowed out’ was always a possibility in the Portsmouth quarry. The Church League subsequently moved its teams and operations to the Kingston Memorial Centre.

Today, almost six decades later, the future of the Memorial Centre & the Centre ’70 Arena are very much in play. The future of both rinks is still to be determined, but there has been rumblings Centre ’70 could be decommissioned as an ice rink, and the Memorial Centre twinned, but at this point, no firm plan is in place and it is only speculation.

The Memorial Centre opened in 1951 and in real estate terms it is no longer a ‘fixer upper’, its become a ‘tear down’ as a result of longtime neglect (much like what happened to the City-owned Hockey Hall of Fame next door that opened in 1965 and was shuttered in 2012). The Memorial Centre requires a total rebuild, certain heritage pieces of the existing structure could be incorporated into a new building. It’s been done successfully in many US cities replacing aging arenas. Outside of the Memorial Centre is a wonderful ‘Memorial Wall’ dedicated to Kingstonians that lost their lives in battle, it can be kept in place, a great tribute to honour fallen soliders.

Even with higher quality new builds today, city planners will tell you the life expectancy for a community facility is around 40 years.

A couple of years ago I visited the historic Galt Arena Gardens (in Cambridge ON), one of the oldest arenas in North America. I remember as a kid listening to Max Jackson call Kingston Aces Senior hockey games against the Galt Hornets from the historic rink. It has been completely redone and today incorporates much of the history of the old building in a modern facility. It is spectacular and home to a Jr A team the Cambridge Redhawks – the Hawks are 23-and-0 this season and their home rink is a shining example of what is possible.