Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Cookin
I feel like within 10-15 years of the Saddledome opening there was a construction wave across the NHL where most franchises had newer, better arenas even before the Dome limped along for another 25 years. I hope the new arena feels new and state of the art for longer than 10-15 years. Seems like a lot of the league will be poised for another wave of new/updated arenas shortly after the Flames' new one is finished.
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When the Saddledome opened in 1983, only 4 of the 20 other arenas in the NHL were less than 10 years old, and only 2 were less than 5.
Edmonton opened in 1974, Hartford in 1975, Detroit in 1979, and New Jersey in 1981. Washington (1973) and the Islanders (1972) were the only other teams playing in buildings from the 70s.
At the time the Saddledome opened, 6 teams were playing in arenas that were more than 40 years old and 5 were in buildings that were at least 50.
The Saddledome was the newest NHL arena for a full decade. The next new arenas opened in 1993 -- San Jose and Anaheim. Also in 1993, Tampa moved into "The Thunderdome" (now Tropicana Field) and the Panthers started play at the Miami Arena. Neither were new buildings, but both were newer than the Saddledome.
The arena in Glendale, Arizona opened in late 2003. In the decade from 1993 to 2003, 23 new NHL arenas opened. The 9 expansion teams from the '90s were all in new arenas. The 4 teams that relocated in the '90s had all moved into new buildings after playing some seasons in temporary locations (Arizona being the last in 2003).
Of the remaining 16 teams that existed when the Saddledome opened in 1983, only New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Edmonton, the Islanders, and the Rangers did not open new buildings during the 1993-2003 building boom. Except for the Rangers, they have all opened new buildings since (and MSG was massively renovated from 2011-2013 to the point where it was essentially a new arena inside an old shell).
When the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, they went from a building that opened in 1999 to one that opened in 2004.
The Delta Center (1991) is now the 3rd oldest building in the league, behind MSG and the Saddledome, but the Smiths are promising significant renovations to bring it up to modern NHL standards.