Edgerton Park Arena
Encyclopedia
Edgerton Park Arena was an indoor arena
in Rochester, New York
. The building was originally constructed in 1892 as the drill hall for a training school for delinquent boys. When the school moved early in the 20th century, the building was turned into an indoor sports arena and exhibition hall. An artificial ice-making system was installed in 1935.
The first professional team to use the building was the Rochester Cardinals hockey team in 1935-36. The Cardinals played in the International Hockey League and were a farm team of the New York Americans of the National Hockey League. Rochester could have been a charter member of the International-American Hockey League which formed in the summer of 1936 upon the merger of the I.H.L. and the Canadian-American Hockey Leagues. However, the Cardinals went into receivership before the end of the 1935-36 season and no suitable owner could be found to operate the team. Also, the arena sat only 3,500 for hockey and officials of the new league wanted a minimum capacity of 5,000. The City of Rochester, the arena's owners, refused to expand the building. This refusal to expand the building meant Rochester had to wait until the Community War Memorial Arena (now Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial) opened in 1955 to join the American Hockey League. Rochester was awarded a new franchise in the American Hockey League in 1956 after Pittsburgh withdrew. The Rochester Americans
began play in the 1956-57 season.
In 1940 the International-American Hockey League changed its name to the American Hockey League. The A.H.L. is now the premier Class AAA minor league in professional hockey.
Edgerton Park Arena was the primary home of the NBA's Rochester Royals
from 1945 to 1955. The Royals moved into the new Rochester Community War Memorial for the 1955-56 N.B.A. season. But because of periodic scheduling conflicts and the two-month long 1956 American Bowling Congress Finals scheduled for the War Memorial, the Royals returned to the Arena to play several games during the '55-'56 season. It also hosted performances by the Glenn Miller Orchestra
and cowboy star Gene Autry
in the 1940s. The arena held 4,200 people for basketball. The building was demolished in the late 1950s.
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. The building was originally constructed in 1892 as the drill hall for a training school for delinquent boys. When the school moved early in the 20th century, the building was turned into an indoor sports arena and exhibition hall. An artificial ice-making system was installed in 1935.
The first professional team to use the building was the Rochester Cardinals hockey team in 1935-36. The Cardinals played in the International Hockey League and were a farm team of the New York Americans of the National Hockey League. Rochester could have been a charter member of the International-American Hockey League which formed in the summer of 1936 upon the merger of the I.H.L. and the Canadian-American Hockey Leagues. However, the Cardinals went into receivership before the end of the 1935-36 season and no suitable owner could be found to operate the team. Also, the arena sat only 3,500 for hockey and officials of the new league wanted a minimum capacity of 5,000. The City of Rochester, the arena's owners, refused to expand the building. This refusal to expand the building meant Rochester had to wait until the Community War Memorial Arena (now Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial) opened in 1955 to join the American Hockey League. Rochester was awarded a new franchise in the American Hockey League in 1956 after Pittsburgh withdrew. The Rochester Americans
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial...
began play in the 1956-57 season.
In 1940 the International-American Hockey League changed its name to the American Hockey League. The A.H.L. is now the premier Class AAA minor league in professional hockey.
Edgerton Park Arena was the primary home of the NBA's Rochester Royals
Rochester Royals
The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League....
from 1945 to 1955. The Royals moved into the new Rochester Community War Memorial for the 1955-56 N.B.A. season. But because of periodic scheduling conflicts and the two-month long 1956 American Bowling Congress Finals scheduled for the War Memorial, the Royals returned to the Arena to play several games during the '55-'56 season. It also hosted performances by the Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1938 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony...
and cowboy star Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
in the 1940s. The arena held 4,200 people for basketball. The building was demolished in the late 1950s.