London Ice House
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| London Ice House | |
|---|---|
| Location | 4380 Wellington Road South, London, ON, N6E 3A2 |
| Broke ground | 1960 |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Renovated | 1994 |
| Closed | 2002 |
| Owner | London Knights Hockey Club |
| Surface | 190' X 85' |
| Former names | Treasure Island Gardens, London Gardens |
| Tenants | London Knights 1965-2002 London Nationals Jr. B 1976-2001 London Wildcats (CoHL) 1994-95 |
| Capacity | 5,075 |
The London Ice House is an arena in London, Ontario, Canada. It was originally built in 1963 and was home to the London Knights ice hockey team from 1965-2002. The arena had a capacity of 5,075 and was originally known as Treasure Island Gardens, but most notably known as the London Gardens, from its opening until its rebranding in 1994. The building was a part of the Superstore Mall complex and originally included a second ice pad, although it was removed in the 1970's (and is now a part of the furniture store next door). 1994 was the year when the London Knights and the building were purchased by new owner Doug Tarry, who changed the name of the building to the Ice House. Tarry upgraded the building in 1994, including replacing the seats on the sides and adding more emergency exits to bring the building up to the fire code, but once the refurbishing was complete the team and building went downhill steadily, as Tarry preferred to allow the building to deteriorate as part of his lobbying the city for a new arena. The team underwent a renaissance after being purchased by Dale and Mark Hunter, and the building was scheduled to be closed as the city began construction on a new arena. The team would leave the Gardens/Ice House in 2002 and relocate to the newly built John Labatt Centre downtown on the former Talbot Block, which was built as part of the city's effort to revitalize the area. The last meaningful goal in the old arena was scored by Erie Otter Carlo Colaiacovo in the 2002 playoffs.
The Gardens/Ice House hosted several excellent rock concerts over the years, including 3 sold out visits by KISS in 1976, 1977 and 1990, Van Halen in 1979 and AC/DC in 1980. The Rolling Stones played the arena on April 26, 1965, but due to rioting in the audience, the show was shut down by police after only 15 minutes. Mick Jagger promised the disappointed crowd the group would return to London for a make-up show, but over 40 years later, it has never happened. The arena's most famous moment came in February 1968, when singer Johnny Cash proposed onstage to his longtime wife, June Carter Cash, during a concert at the building.
After the Ice House's closure it was purchased by investors who turned it into a motocross facility called the London Motoplex, however they went bankrupt within eight months. Most of the old seats and all of the hockey memorabilia was sold at auction. The 1994-era seats were purchased by the Windsor Spitfires organization, who installed them at the Windsor Arena. After the Motoplex went under, a liquidator sold the building to another group of investors who constructed a bicycle track on the arena floor. Today the Ice House building is home to the Forest City Velodrome.
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