The Cominco Arena celebrates its 75th birthday this week, having hosting its very first game on Nov. 29, 1949.
The story below was written for Teck’s in-house publication, After Ours, but is an appropriate Trail Blazers feature, as well!
The road to the new rink wasn’t entirely paved in golden benevolence.
Business and political matters usually aren’t.
By 1948, Cominco operations and the City of Trail were rapidly growing post-war, but remnants of Trail Creek Landing still lingered.
Prime examples impacting both parties were the old Trail Cemetery located roughly where C lot is and the under-developed recreation land immediately below the smelter, along Victoria Street.
In April 1948, Cominco president Ralph Diamond proposed a land swap to City Council: the old Trail cemetery land in Tadanac (owned by the City) for Victoria Park downtown (owned by Cominco).
In a letter to the municipality, he requested a speedy removal of the cemetery in exchange for financing the removal of burial remains to a new location, as well as the downtown recreation land
When the letter hit the council agenda at their April 15 council meeting, a “heated debate” ensued.
While the paper was not explicit as to the discussion, the item was tabled to a later date and the letter forwarded to the city’s legal representatives.
Interestingly, the Trail District Recreational Projects Society only days before publicly announced a commitment by Cominco of $125,000 towards recreation projects that included a new swimming pool at Gyro Park, upgrades at Butler Park, and a new arena.
Its board of directors was stacked with familiar Cominco executives, like Charles Wright (Chemical Engineer), Pete McIntyre (Personnel Manager), Gerry Thomson (Personnel), Eddy Montpellier (Accounting), Jack Salter (Personnel Assistant Manager), and Marc Marcolin (eventual General Manager and Mayor of Trail), among others.
It’s important to note that Mr. Montpellier also sat on City Council, as did board member J.R. Ranetta.
The society’s advertisement that month stated preliminary drawings had already been received for a new facility that proposed a rink, a gymnasium, and a library. Obviously, plans were in the works before the letter to council was sent.
The society seemed to be ignoring cues from a July 1947 Trail-Tadanac Joint Planning Commission report, developed by urban planning engineers, Meadows, Critoph & Co. of Vancouver.
In it, the recommendation was to replace the “eye sore” and “fire trap” that was the old rink at the far end of Bay Avenue with a new facility at the other end facing the Esplanade, where our medical offices are now.
As planning for the new bridge was already underway, the Victoria Park land was deemed more appropriate for a centralized fire station in that report, with a recommendation to move the recreation land to the other end of Bay Avenue, after the demolition of the old rink.
One wonders what was transpiring in the background between members of council and Cominco.
Was it their respective representatives on the Recreational Projects Society that nudged Diamond into sweetening the deal with the land swap?
Perhaps it was.
The society was ready to canvass for public funds to build these new facilities, but members of council expressed four primary concerns.
Firstly, they were worried about sustainability and operating costs of new pools, arenas, and ballparks.
Secondly, council expressed hesitancy about the society’s reliance on fundraising for capital projects.
Thirdly, dedicating large plots of land in the downtown core to public facilities would eliminate tax revenue generation.
Lastly, Victoria Park was surrounded by the former CM&S slag dump.
The letter from Diamond proposed safe routes around the proposed building to access it.
One member of council vowed he wouldn’t “give five cents towards any recreational buildings in that slag pile.”
That May 11, 1948, council meeting saw the society (and Cominco) representatives plead with council to make a “quick and favourable” decision to kick off fundraising and share the proposed drawings with the community.
It’s likely that council members not seated on the society board felt strong-armed.
Interestingly, only three days later, the paper reported that council approved Diamond’s request “in principle,” but tabled it for more negotiation with the company.
It’s a good thing they did.
Trail was hit hard only days later by one of the most disastrous floods on record.
The company stepped up in meaningful ways with equipment, labour, finances, and support for their employees impacted by flood damage.
Estimated at over $5 million, the damage was substantial.
Through it all, Cominco contributed $1 million towards the clean-up.
Faced with pressure, council was forced to get back to work.
Perhaps fed up with the political “football” the arena issue had become, a vote of 5-2 in favour of the Victoria Park site occurred on July 8, 1948.
In fact, the flood provided valuable insight about land use around the city.
Firstly, Victoria Park sat high enough that it avoided rising flood waters.
Secondly, the proposed swimming pool at Gyro Park proved entirely unsuitable. The pool was slated for Butler Park (and would open in 1961 as the C.H. Wright Pool).
In December, Diamond made the official announcement that the CM&S would construct and gift the community a $500,000 arena.
After the trials experienced by the city that year, the gesture only strengthened the community’s appreciation for the company.
They broke ground on March 28, 1949, and opening night at the Cominco Arena welcomed a packed and thrilled house.
Two company towns, Trail and Kimberley, played the inaugural game, with Trail winning, 9-3.
After 75 years, the arena remains a gathering space for sports enthusiasts and continues to lengthen the legacy of our world-famous Smoke Eater brand and Trail’s rich sporting heritage.
Once again, we reflect on remnants of days gone by, as the slowly disappearing Cominco name proudly lives on here.
Come out and celebrate this amazing milestone with a pre-game ceremony at the Sunday, Dec. 1 Smokies home game.
The doors open at 2 p.m.
Sarah Benson-Lord is manager of the Trail Museum and Archives and Visitors Centre.
