While many modern arenas are quite similar to one another, some NHL rinks of the past offered a truly unique atmosphere.
As a stadium and arena chaser who is always trying to check out a new venue, it’s easy to focus most of the attention on MLB parks and all they have to offer, with each stadium offering a truly distinct experience.
Though this may not be wholly translated to NBA and NHL arenas, each venue is tasked with creating a distinct, memorable experience geared towards the hometown crowd – something that isn’t as easily accomplished without the stadium quirks often seen throughout MLB.
While baseball will always be my favorite sport, there’s something to be said about the unmatched energy and excitement that live ice hockey brings, particularly come playoffs time.
Granted, I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to personal experience in this regard, getting to see much of the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2010’s dynasty with my own eyes, including Game 2 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and Game 7 of the 2013 Western Conference Semifinals, the latter an overtime win against the arch rival Detroit Red Wings.
With the vast majority of NHL games that I’ve attended having taken place at Chicago’s United Center, every game I’ve attended elsewhere has felt different and memorable in its own regard. Whether this is thanks to seeing an incredibly exciting game, as I got the chance to in Pittsburgh last year, or simply remembering an unconventional concourse like the one at SAP Center in San Jose, there’s bound to be something in each venue that fans are able to take away from.
With that said, the era of NBA and NHL arenas being relatively similar to one another is more of a recent phenomenon, with arena modernizations of the last quarter-century keeping each venue similarly up-to-date – something that’s perhaps given more thought than the upkeep of MLB stadiums given the frequent concerts indoor arenas often host.
Prior to this era of familar arenas, the quirks were a bit more obvious from venue to venue, with some of the buildings hosting many of the sport’s most historic moments dating back to the Original Six era.
As of January 2026, I’ve gotten the chance to see an NHL game at eight different arenas, seven of which remain active. The lone inactive arena I’ve seen a game at was the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which served as a temporary home for the New York Islanders prior to their move back to Long Island in 2021.
Balancing both my deep interest with the history of the NHL along with my fascination for unique stadiums and arenas, here’s a look at the three arenas I wish I got the chance to see a game in:
1. St. Louis Arena (Checkerdome), St. Louis Blues – 1967-1994
A historic arena that hosted many of St. Louis’ biggest events from its opening in 1929 until its 1994 closure, the St. Louis Blues called the St. Louis Arena home for their first 27 NHL seasons as a franchise.
Also known as the “Checkerdome” from 1977 to 1983, the St. Louis Arena was one of the league’s old “barns,” renowned for its incredibly loud atmosphere and tightly-packed seating.
Initially opening as the country’s second-largest indoor arena in 1929, the St. Louis Arena had a capacity as large as 18,008 for a single season in the 1970’s, with a capacity of 17,188 during the arena’s final season in 1993-94.
While the Blues never won the Stanley Cup during their time at the Checkerdome, they only missed the postseason three times in their first 27 years as a team, creating a near-guarantee that fans would be treated to high-octane postseason hockey come springtime.
Despite the arena’s closure in 1994, the St. Louis Arena remained standing for a few more years, eventually being demolished on Feb. 27, 1999. For the 1994-95 season, the Blues relocated to downtown St. Louis to what is now the Enterprise Center, as opposed to the west city location of the Checkerdome, which was near the large Forest Park.
2. Chicago Stadium, Chicago Blackhawks – 1929-1994
The storied longtime home of the Chicago Blackhawks as well as the first three Chicago Bulls championships, the Chicago Stadium holds a mythical reputation and legacy among Chicago fans, even as the United Center has become beloved.
Serving as the home of the Blackhawks for over six decades, the Chicago Stadium was beloved for its incredibly unique and loud acoustics and massive Barton pipe organ, which reverberated boisterously through the tightly condensed venue.
Affectionately earning the moniker of “The Madhouse on Madison,” the arena was also home to the start of one of the NHL’s more recognizable fan traditions of applauding through the National Anthem, which began during the 1991 NHL All-Star Game while the Gulf War was taking place.
The arena was also a true relic of the past in two regards – holding the last analog clock used in any NHL arena while also being one of the final three NHL arenas to have an ice surface that was shorter than league regulation required, owing to the arena being built prior to the existence of the regulation. Chicago Stadium joined Boston Garden and Buffalo Memorial Auditorium as the final arenas with this feature.
While the Chicago Stadium hosted decades of unforgettable action, it always seemed to me like the peak of the venue was at the very end of its lifespan, punctuated by both the Bulls and Blackhawks making it to their respective league championships in 1992 – with the Bulls toppling the Portland Trail Blazers while the Blackhawks were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The final ice hockey game at the Chicago Stadium was played on April 28, 1994, a 1-0 loss in Game 6 of a first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. A charity basketball game organized by Scottie Pippen served as the final event in the arena, held on September 9, 1994.
The Chicago Stadium was gradually demolished between February and May 1995, with the Blackhawks moving to the United Center for the lockout-shortened 1994-95 NHL season.
3. Expo Hall, Tampa Bay Lightning – 1992-1993
After shining the spotlight on two of the league’s most historic, storied arenas, I’ll instead pivot to one that’s just flat-out bizarre – to the point that it’s tough to believe it actually happened.
Yet for the first season of Tampa Bay Lightning history, the franchise played their home games at an exhibition hall outside of Tampa that also occasionally hosted concerts and sporting events.
The Lightning called Expo Hall home for just the 1992-93 season, a tiny arena with a capacity of just 10,425 fans for ice hockey, which included almost no seating at all behind both of the nets.
The result was a bizarre atmosphere that looked and likely felt a lot more like a rink thrown onto the surface of a mid-major Division 1 college basketball arena than it did an NHL arena.
Though the Lightning expectedly finished at the bottom of the league for average attendance due to the building’s low capacity, the Bolts did register a sellout on most nights, averaging just over 10,000 fans a game for the season.
The unconventional set-up was short-lived however, with the Lightning relocating to what was then known as the Thunderdome in St. Petersburg for the 1993-94 season, where they remained for three seasons before moving to their current home of Benchmark International Arena in 1996. The Thunderdome, a multi-purpose stadium, was then renamed Tropicana Field and became the home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when the franchise began play in 1998.
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