'Lights will be on' for last hockey game at Northlands Coliseum

The Northlands Coliseum is opening its doors to the public for one last hockey game next week.

The arena will be hosting a free Alberta Junior Hockey League game between the Spruce Grove Saints and the Okotoks Oilers onDec. 15.

The game was former Edmonton Oiler Ryan Smyth's idea.

As he was listening to the radio three weeks ago, it hit him that the Coliseum may never play host to a hockey game again. So he wanted to open the venueto the public fo a final farewell.

Right away, hecalled up Northlands CEO Tim Reid to see if anything could be done.

"I'm speechless, honestly, being up here brings back so many good memories," Smyth told reporters at the Coliseum Thursday.

The Northlands group was already thinking about hosting a goodbye party to reminisce about the venue's four decadesat the epicentre of the city's sports scene.

"The lights will be on, the popcorn will be fresh, and the ice will be as crisp as it's ever been," Reid said Thursday.

The city will take back the land north of 118th Avenue on January 1. While Northlands plans tocontinue to host K-Daysand possibly the CanadianFinals Rodeo, they have yet to findnew venues for the events.

Across town, the future of the Coliseum was up for debate again at city council on Thursday. Some councillors at the table lobbied to maintain the old building instead of tearing it down.

• It's not the '11th hour for the Coliseum,' Edmonton councillor argues
• More options on the table for Northlands Coliseum, mayor says

Mayor Don Iveson said earlier this week he will pass a motion to make city administration look for a more detailed cost analysis of the Coliseum's destruction. Current estimates say the job could ringin as high as $25 million.

Even though Reid believes the building has nostalgic value for the public, he said the game on Friday will likely be its last hurrah.

"People want to talk about the remember-whens," he said. "I hope that's what the next few weeks will be about and I hope people will get the chance to do that inside the building."

Doors to the Coliseum will be open for the free hockey game at 5:30 p.m., with the puckscheduled to drop at7 p.m.