Winnipeg Arena - Decommission and Demolition

Decommission and Demolition

With the opening of the MTS Centre, the Winnipeg Arena's demolition was approved, holding its last event on November 7, 2004. The City of Winnipeg took on the $1.45 million expense of demolishing the now-vacant arena. Final demolition was scheduled for 7:15 am on Sunday March 26, 2006. On the morning that the demolition was scheduled, hundreds of hockey fans gathered to watch the building fall. As the workers prepared to destroy the building, the group began to chant, "Go Jets, Go!". However, the dynamite failed to bring the entire structure down. Hours later, construction vehicles pulled down the rest of the structure.

The Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan Board, or "Ontrea Inc.", purchased the Winnipeg Arena site for $3.6 million. The land was being used as a parking lot for Canad Inns Stadium across the street until construction of new retail and office space began in 2011. The stadium, too, will be demolished after the Winnipeg Blue Bombers move into Investors Group Field on the University of Manitoba campus in 2013.