Championship Tradition
The ghosts of Stanley Cups past loom large at Rexall Place. The Edmonton Oilers have five Stanley Cup pennants, flanked by many other divisional banners, hanging from the rafters. This is the arena where the legendary Boys on the Bus worked their magic through the 1980s, with Gretzky feeding passes to Kurri, Coffey, Anderson and Messier, while Fuhr and Moog held the fort in goal. The old fire was rekindled during the 2006 playoffs, when an unlikely collection of young Oilers fought three games of the NHL finals on Rexall ice to bring Edmonton fans within sniffing distance of remembered glory. The team continues to excel at Rexall Place before sellout crowds of 17,000, setting the example for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings who also call Rexall home.

More Than Hockey
Hockey matches are just part of the Rexall agenda. The Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League play here, and the popular Canadian Finals Rodeo packs the house every November. Rexall Place is also one of Edmonton’s premier concert venues. Pavarotti has raised the rafters, as have Tina Turner, The Guess Who, Christina Aguilera, Cher, the Tragically Hip, and Garth Brooks.

History
Originally built as the Northlands Coliseum in 1974, the arena was substantially renovated during the mid-1990s to include luxury suites and other amenities. It became known as the Edmonton Coliseum, then the Skyreach Centre before adopting its current handle in the midst of the 2003-2004 NHL season, when Rexall, a subsidiary company of pharmaceutical giant Katz Group Canada, bought the arena naming rights. The Edmonton-based non-profit Northlands group co-owns and operates the facility.