Memorial Stadium (St. John's) facts for kids

Memorial Stadium was a large building in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was a multi-purpose arena, meaning it could be used for many different events. It had about 4,000 seats for people to watch games and shows.

The stadium was built after the city's old ice rink, Prince's Rink, burned down in 1941. However, because of World War II, building a new one had to wait. In 1948, people started raising money for a new arena. It was named Memorial Stadium to honor Newfoundlanders who died in the war. The city helped pay for it, and it officially opened in 1955.

Memorial Stadium was the home of the St. John's Maple Leafs hockey team. They played in the American Hockey League from 1991 to 2001. Many exciting events happened there. For example, the local St. John's Caps hockey team played against the famous Soviet Red Army team. The stadium also hosted two professional basketball games from the NBA.

Besides sports, many music concerts were held at Memorial Stadium. Even Pope John Paul II visited the stadium. When it first opened, the seats were made of wood. Later, plastic seats were put in, especially when the Maple Leafs started playing there. Memorial Stadium closed in 2001. A new building called Mile One Centre took its place.

From Stadium to Supermarket

After Memorial Stadium closed, its inside was taken apart. In 2006, work began to turn the building into a new grocery store. This new store belongs to Dominion, a well-known supermarket chain.

On September 21, 2007, the new store officially opened. It was named Dominion Memorial Market. This grocery store is special because it has some unique features. It has underground parking for cars and escalators to help shoppers move between floors. It also has special conveyors for shopping carts. A cool part is that the store still has the original scoreboard from when it was a hockey stadium!