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MEMORIAL ARENA
PLAQUE TEXT:
The Council of the Corporation of the City of Belleville purchased the Hume Arena on June 26, 1946 to commemorate the people who served in the Armed Forces of His Majesty or His Majesty's Allies during the recent war.
The Memorial Arena has served this Community since its construction in 1929.
This plaque installed by the City of Belleville October 2010
GPS co-ordinates: 44° 09'45.76" N 77° 22'55.00" W (44.16250000 -77.38250000)
Street Address: Market Square, Belleville
ADDITIONAL NOTES: The Memorial Arena occupies a prime piece of downtown Belleville, adjacent to City Hall and the Farmers' Market. Its life span as a hockey venue runs 90 years from conception to closing.
In 1920 Belleville Arena Ltd. purchased the property for $6,000. But the hockey arena did not open until Dec. 6, 1929. Originally it was known as the Hume Arena, but was renamed when the city purchased the building in 1946. It became known as the Memorial Arena to honour those lost in action in the First and Second World Wars.
The arena was the home of the Belleville McFarlands hockey team. Most unexpectedly and improbably, the McFarlands won the World Hockey Championship in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1959.
Major expensive renovations were proposed over the years to update the Memorial Arena into an improved arena or to be used for other purposes, such as an indoor farmers' market. Finally, in 2010, major equipment failure forced the closing of the arena. Nine years later, a permanent solution to using the arena or its lands still eludes city council. The building was designated an historical property under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2003.
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