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Jay Random · 02-13-2024, 06:45 PM

A sidelight:

These were the days when the real power in hockey was wielded by the men who controlled the arenas. At one point, the usual split of gate receipts for a hockey game was 20% to each team, 60% to the arena owner. Naturally, arenas wanted to host a hockey team even if they had to buy and run it themselves.

In Ottawa, the ultimate power in hockey at this time was Ted Dey, who was a boat-builder by trade. He and his brothers built their boats on premises next to the Rideau Canal, and in the 1880s they built the city's first indoor skating rink next door. Ted was an enthusiastic athlete; he played for the Ottawa Hockey Club in its early years. In 1896, he moved both the rink and the boatyard to a larger location, and it was in this second edition of Dey's Arena that the Ottawa Silver Seven won their first Stanley Cup.

In 1917, as part of a deal to keep the Ottawa HC (now nicknamed ‘Senators’) in his arena, Dey bought a one-third interest in the team. A couple of years later, he forced one of his partners out and became majority owner. Along the way, he invented the goal light. Before this, the goal judges indicated that a goal had been scored by waving a red handkerchief.

When Dey retired in 1923, he sold the Senators to Frank Ahearn, whose family owned the Ottawa Electric Company and the local streetcar company. Ahearn's first order of business was to replace Dey's Arena with a large modern facility, the 7,500-seat Ottawa Auditorium.

Meanwhile, William Northey, head of the Canadian Arena Company, was making himself the most powerful man in the sport. His company owned the Arena Gardens in Toronto, and had directly owned the team itself for a time (as CaptainCrunch mentions). They had also been the owners of the old Westmount Arena until it burnt down in 1918, taking the Montreal Wanderers franchise along with it. In 1924, Northey made a triumphant return to the Montreal market, building the biggest, most fabulous, and most famous hockey arena of all: the Montreal Forum.

But that's a story for another season.

02-13-2024, 06:45 PM	#40
Jay Random Franchise Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Exp:	A sidelight: These were the days when the real power in hockey was wielded by the men who controlled the arenas. At one point, the usual split of gate receipts for a hockey game was 20% to each team, 60% to the arena owner. Naturally, arenas wanted to host a hockey team even if they had to buy and run it themselves. In Ottawa, the ultimate power in hockey at this time was Ted Dey, who was a boat-builder by trade. He and his brothers built their boats on premises next to the Rideau Canal, and in the 1880s they built the city's first indoor skating rink next door. Ted was an enthusiastic athlete; he played for the Ottawa Hockey Club in its early years. In 1896, he moved both the rink and the boatyard to a larger location, and it was in this second edition of Dey's Arena that the Ottawa Silver Seven won their first Stanley Cup. In 1917, as part of a deal to keep the Ottawa HC (now nicknamed ‘Senators’) in his arena, Dey bought a one-third interest in the team. A couple of years later, he forced one of his partners out and became majority owner. Along the way, he invented the goal light. Before this, the goal judges indicated that a goal had been scored by waving a red handkerchief. When Dey retired in 1923, he sold the Senators to Frank Ahearn, whose family owned the Ottawa Electric Company and the local streetcar company. Ahearn's first order of business was to replace Dey's Arena with a large modern facility, the 7,500-seat Ottawa Auditorium. Meanwhile, William Northey, head of the Canadian Arena Company, was making himself the most powerful man in the sport. His company owned the Arena Gardens in Toronto, and had directly owned the team itself for a time (as CaptainCrunch mentions). They had also been the owners of the old Westmount Arena until it burnt down in 1918, taking the Montreal Wanderers franchise along with it. In 1924, Northey made a triumphant return to the Montreal market, building the biggest, most fabulous, and most famous hockey arena of all: the Montreal Forum. But that's a story for another season. __________________ WARNING: The preceding message may not have been processed in a sarcasm-free facility.