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| O' Canada |
04/05/2005, By Bill Walch
On March 31, 2006, the start of the MMBC’s trip to Toronto and Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada was an early one, 6:00 AM to be exact. This trip was the
most anticipated trip of the 2005-2006 MMBC Bus Trip Schedule. Trip
participants started signing up in October.
When I arrived at Macy’s parking lot in Bedford around 5:15 AM, there were
two buses waiting for us. Each bus would have 33 trip participants. You can
only hope that things work out the way they were planned. Well, everyone
brought the required paperwork with them, so that was good. We did have a
problem though. Despite being told we would have two buses with DVD
players, only one had a DVD player. The other did have a VCR, so someone
ran home to get a bunch of videos. Unfortunately, that did not work either.
The ride was going to be a long one, so we stopped about every 2 ½ hours at
the nearest rest areas along Interstate 90 for about 20 minutes each. We
eventually made it to the border crossing. Both buses were at the crossing
for about 5 minutes each. That was great considering it could have been a
long drawn out border stop. I guess you can say it was our lucky day.
One bus arrived about 45 minutes before the other one, allowing them to go to
the Holiday Inn on King Downtown in Toronto, register and unload, before
going to the Ricoh Coliseum for our first game on this long journey. The
second bus went directly to the Coliseum for the game.
At Ricoh Coliseum, we got
to see other Monarchs
fans that drove up to the game on their own. The Coliseum was originally
constructed in 1922 for the Royal Winter Fair. From 1940 to 1945, the building
was used as a training base for the Canadian Army during World War II. After
1945, the arena was used for horse shows during the Canadian National
Exhibition and the Royal Winter Fair.
In January 2003, the Coliseum underwent a massive renovation in preparation
for the arrival of the Toronto Roadrunners (the AHL farm team of the Edmonton
Oilers), and the Japanese office supply company Ricoh was granted corporate
naming rights to the new facility. On November 1, it made its debut as an ice
hockey venue. After the 2003-04 season, however, the Oilers chose to relocate
the Roadrunners to Edmonton for the 2004-05 campaign
due to poor attendance and anticipation of the impending 2004-05 NHL lockout.
On March 31, 2006, the start of the MMBC’s trip to Toronto and Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada was an early one, 6:00 AM to be exact. This trip was the
most anticipated trip of the 2005-2006 MMBC Bus Trip Schedule. Trip
participants started signing up in October.
When I arrived at Macy’s parking lot in Bedford around 5:15 AM, there were
two buses waiting for us. Each bus would have 33 trip participants. You can
only hope that things work out the way they were planned. Well, everyone
brought the required paperwork with them, so that was good. We did have a
problem though. Despite being told we would have two buses with DVD
players, only one had a DVD player. The other did have a VCR, so someone
ran home to get a bunch of videos. Unfortunately, that did not work either.
The ride was going to be a long one, so we stopped about every 2 ½ hours at
the nearest rest areas along Interstate 90 for about 20 minutes each. We
eventually made it to the border crossing. Both buses were at the crossing
for about 5 minutes each. That was great considering it could have been a
long drawn out border stop. I guess you can say it was our lucky day.
One bus arrived about 45 minutes before the other one, allowing them to go to
the Holiday Inn on King Downtown in Toronto, register and unload, before
going to the Ricoh Coliseum for our first game on this long journey. The
second bus went directly to the Coliseum for the game.
At Ricoh Coliseum, we got
to see other Monarchs
fans that drove up to the game on their own. The Coliseum was originally
constructed in 1922 for the Royal Winter Fair. From 1940 to 1945, the building
was used as a training base for the Canadian Army during World War II. After
1945, the arena was used for horse shows during the Canadian National
Exhibition and the Royal Winter Fair.
In January 2003, the Coliseum underwent a massive renovation in preparation
for the arrival of the Toronto Roadrunners (the AHL farm team of the Edmonton
Oilers), and the Japanese office supply company Ricoh was granted corporate
naming rights to the new facility. On November 1, it made its debut as an ice
hockey venue. After the 2003-04 season, however, the Oilers chose to relocate
the Roadrunners to Edmonton for the 2004-05 campaign
due to poor attendance and anticipation of the impending 2004-05 NHL lockout.
| Copyright © 2003-2006 Manchester Monarchs Booster Club. All Rights Reserved. |
The Ricoh Coliseum was left without a tenant for a year until after the 2004-05 season, at which time the
Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they would be relocating their AHL farm team from St. John's,
Newfoundland to Toronto. This team, renamed the Toronto Marlies, took up residence in Ricoh for the
2005-06 season; they debuted in their new home on October 12, 2005.
After the game, both buses went to the hotel for the night. Since the Holiday Inn on King was right
downtown, many participants took the opportunity to enjoy Toronto’s vast nightlife. Others called it a night
and a few decided to play cards or dice.
The next day, trip participants had until 4:00 PM to tour Toronto. Some took in sites like the CN Tower
(world's tallest tower and free standing structure,
standing over 1,815 ft), Rogers Centre (f.k.a. SkyDome
and home of the Toronto Bluejays), AirCanada Centre (home of the Toronto Maple Leafs) and most
ventured to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When you're having fun, time passes by quickly and before we knew it, we needed to meet the buses at the
CN Tower. Once loaded up, we made our way to Hamilton for the game there. The buses dropped us off at
Copps Coliseum, home of the Hamilton Bulldogs. We had about an hour before the doors opened, so many
people walked around, some going to the mall down the street from Copps Coliseum is a sports and
entertainment arena with a capacity of 17,500. It is named after the former Hamilton mayor, Victor K. Copps.
Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1985 at a cost of $33.5 million, and an addition $2.3 million
for a parking garage. The scoreboard clock was originally from the Winnipeg Arena, purchased for
$214,000. Although it was not brand new, the scoreboard clock, would meet the needs of Copps Coliseum.
Copps Coliseum was built in the hope that Hamilton could draw an NHL or WHA franchise, something that never materialized. The arena has hosted the
Canada Cup hockey tournament and was the site of Mario Lemieux's famous goal in 1987 that beat the Soviets 6-5.
In 1990 Copps Coliseum hosted the Memorial Cup. The tournament that year set the highest attendance record for any single Memorial Cup game, on May
13th, 1990 at 17,383 spectators. In 2007, from March 3rd to March 11th, Copps Coliseum will host the Tim
Hortons Brier, the annual Canadian men's curling championship. The arena's primary tenant today is the
American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs. Previous Ontario Hockey League tenants include the
Hamilton Steelhawks (1985-1988) and Dukes of Hamilton (1989-1990).
Once the arena doors opened, we went in to watch the guys warm up. There was plenty of space to
spread out during the game, since it was not a sellout. When the game was over, the Hamilton Bulldogs
Booster Club loaded both buses with food and drink for our ride back to the states. We then boarded the
buses and made our trek to Niagara Falls on the Ontario side where we spent the night. Some people
took this opportunity to walk over to Casino Niagara three blocks away, some went to The Falls and
others played cards or dice at the hotel.
On Sunday, we left Niagara for the United States around 11:00 AM. Before heading through customs, we
made a pit stop at the Duty Free Shop. I ended up getting a few t-shirts for few people I know who would
like them. At the border crossing neither bus had any problems getting passed customs. Once again, we stopped about every 2 ½ hours at the nearest rest
areas along Interstate 90 for about 20 minutes each. Overall, the trip was a success, despite a few glitches. Feedback on this trip is that people had a great
time.
Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they would be relocating their AHL farm team from St. John's,
Newfoundland to Toronto. This team, renamed the Toronto Marlies, took up residence in Ricoh for the
2005-06 season; they debuted in their new home on October 12, 2005.
After the game, both buses went to the hotel for the night. Since the Holiday Inn on King was right
downtown, many participants took the opportunity to enjoy Toronto’s vast nightlife. Others called it a night
and a few decided to play cards or dice.
The next day, trip participants had until 4:00 PM to tour Toronto. Some took in sites like the CN Tower
(world's tallest tower and free standing structure,
standing over 1,815 ft), Rogers Centre (f.k.a. SkyDome
and home of the Toronto Bluejays), AirCanada Centre (home of the Toronto Maple Leafs) and most
ventured to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When you're having fun, time passes by quickly and before we knew it, we needed to meet the buses at the
CN Tower. Once loaded up, we made our way to Hamilton for the game there. The buses dropped us off at
Copps Coliseum, home of the Hamilton Bulldogs. We had about an hour before the doors opened, so many
people walked around, some going to the mall down the street from Copps Coliseum is a sports and
entertainment arena with a capacity of 17,500. It is named after the former Hamilton mayor, Victor K. Copps.
Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1985 at a cost of $33.5 million, and an addition $2.3 million
for a parking garage. The scoreboard clock was originally from the Winnipeg Arena, purchased for
$214,000. Although it was not brand new, the scoreboard clock, would meet the needs of Copps Coliseum.
Copps Coliseum was built in the hope that Hamilton could draw an NHL or WHA franchise, something that never materialized. The arena has hosted the
Canada Cup hockey tournament and was the site of Mario Lemieux's famous goal in 1987 that beat the Soviets 6-5.
In 1990 Copps Coliseum hosted the Memorial Cup. The tournament that year set the highest attendance record for any single Memorial Cup game, on May
13th, 1990 at 17,383 spectators. In 2007, from March 3rd to March 11th, Copps Coliseum will host the Tim
Hortons Brier, the annual Canadian men's curling championship. The arena's primary tenant today is the
American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs. Previous Ontario Hockey League tenants include the
Hamilton Steelhawks (1985-1988) and Dukes of Hamilton (1989-1990).
Once the arena doors opened, we went in to watch the guys warm up. There was plenty of space to
spread out during the game, since it was not a sellout. When the game was over, the Hamilton Bulldogs
Booster Club loaded both buses with food and drink for our ride back to the states. We then boarded the
buses and made our trek to Niagara Falls on the Ontario side where we spent the night. Some people
took this opportunity to walk over to Casino Niagara three blocks away, some went to The Falls and
others played cards or dice at the hotel.
On Sunday, we left Niagara for the United States around 11:00 AM. Before heading through customs, we
made a pit stop at the Duty Free Shop. I ended up getting a few t-shirts for few people I know who would
like them. At the border crossing neither bus had any problems getting passed customs. Once again, we stopped about every 2 ½ hours at the nearest rest
areas along Interstate 90 for about 20 minutes each. Overall, the trip was a success, despite a few glitches. Feedback on this trip is that people had a great
time.