The WHL Arena Guide - Kamloops Memorial Arena, Kamloops Blazers

I made my first visit to Kamloops for a Blazers game in the fall of 2021, and naturally, knowing that Memorial Arena had been home to WHL teams from the 1970's through the early 1990's, I tried to make a visit. I got a great outdoor shot of the building, but the arena was locked tight - I checked every door. A friendly homeless person sitting on a bench out front informed me that the city had been using it as an emergency shelter during the COVID pandemic, with the arena floor having enough space to maintain social distancing. It was a disappointment, but at that time there were no plans to shutter the place, and I figured I'd get back sometime to see inside.

Four and a half years later, news came down that the Memorial Arena actually might be closing, so when I was (relatively) nearby for a Penticton Vees game, I knew I had to make a point of visiting. We drove the two plus hours northwest to Kamloops assuming the arena would be open, but also knowing that if it wasn't for some reason, this was probably it for me, and I'd never get inside.

Thankfully, the rink was open. I walked in the front door to discover a relic - an old Memorial Arena that was crumbling on the inside, but very little changed from the day it opened. The arena lobby is barely big enough for ticket windows, and immediately opens into a narrow concourse with hardwood flooring that surrounds the ice surface. Bench seats surround the ice surface, and a wooden ceiling arches high above you. The walls are all painted pale yellow, and the seats are red, blue, yellow and green depending on the section. Sections are designated by letters, and interestingly, they don't start the alphabet at section A, but rather at section K, for Kamloops.

Getting it out of the way first - the fact that this building hosted WHL games regularly into the early 1990's is incredible. The old barn is clearly nowhere near CHL standard now, but even back then I can't imagine it would have been at that level. I only spotted two tiny concession stands, the ice is only 80' wide, and there is only one set of washrooms for the entire arena. Contemporary rinks like Penticton and Kelowna's Memorial Arenas, as well as similar buildings in Ontario like Sarnia etc, all had upgrades over the years, whereas I couldn't spot much in Kamloops that didn't look original to the building, apart from one battered old digital scoreboard hanging in one corner.

If this sounds like criticism, it isn't intended to be. I love old buildings, and finding a surviving one that seems like a museum piece as opposed to one that changed and upgraded with the times is incredibly rare. Chatham, Ontario's old Memorial Arena is another one, as was the Jacques Plante Arena in Shawinigan before its closure, but apart from that I can think of very few in Canada that fit the bill. Given the condition of the building I can certainly understand why the city might be closing the old barn, but it is a shame to lose it. Old arenas don't come in much more original condition than this, and I am incredibly grateful that it was preserved long enough for me to get back to Kamloops to see it before it's gone forever.