History
The arena was built as a replacement home for the Oshawa Generals, when the Hambly Arena burned down on September 15, 1953. The Generals resumed play in 1962–63 as part of the Metro Junior A League playing out of Maple Leaf Gardens, then returned to the Ontario Hockey League for the 1963–64 season sponsored by the Boston Bruins. The team played in nearby Bowmanville, Ontario for one season until construction on the new arena was finished. The Generals also won the first game played at the Civic on December 15, 1964, a 6-4 win over the St. Catharines Black Hawks. Bobby Orr, aged 16 at the time, scored in that first game.
On April 22, 1979, the Auditorium hosted two benefit concerts for the CNIB by the Rolling Stones, after Keith Richards was charged with possession of heroin. In May 2006, Alice Cooper appeared in concert at the Auditorium, one of the final acts to appear.
The Civic hosted the 1987 Memorial Cup tournament for the Canadian Hockey League championship. Oshawa competed against the Longueuil Chevaliers and the Memorial Cup champions the Medicine Hat Tigers.
In June 2005, construction began on a replacement arena in downtown Oshawa, the General Motors Centre. The last Generals game in the Civic was held October 29, 2006, versus the Kingston Frontenacs, in which the Generals won 8-6.
Read more about this topic: Oshawa Civic Auditorium
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