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Hockey History
The Hamilton Forum: The Final Chapter It is ironic that in 1976, a year when Hamilton could boast as one of its best in hockey, the landmark Forum was demolished. And the city had no replacement rink for almost 10 years until Copps Coliseum opened its doors in 1985. In May of 1976 the Hamilton Fincups brought the Memorial Cup back to Hamilton. By Labor Day the ice palace on Barton Street East, and the home to the team, was being demolished. When Nick Durbano sold the Junior A franchise, the Hamilton Red Wings, to real estate partners Ron and Mario Cupido, and Joe Finochio in June of 1974, the Forum was also part of the deal. The new owners, who renamed the Red Wings to the Fincups, said at the time they had no intention of playing in the old arena for more than two years. They had hoped the city would build a new state-of-the-art arena. While Hamilton did look at several proposals for new arenas in the area, it did so with the intention of acquiring a World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise. The Fincup owners would have been happy with a new 7,000 or 8,000-seat facility. The owners were also propping up an expensive hobby, with estimates of at least $100,000 in losses each year while playing at the Forum. In 1976 the Fincups offered to sell the Forum to the city to use as an arena and recreation center in exchange for playing in the Mountain Arena, but this was turned down as residents claimed the city would be supporting a private enterprise. At the time nine of the 12 major Junior A clubs, with the exception of the London Knights, Toronto Marlies, and the Fincups played in city-owned facilities. The Fincup owners did not want to move out of Hamilton, but their backs were against the wall. "If we move to another city, it's with a great deal of reluctance," said club president Ron Cupido in May of 1976. "When we took over the Forum and the hockey club, it was for a period of two years," he continued. "It was practically agreed by the arena committee that a 15,000-seat arena would be built for the opening of the 1976-77 season." According to a May 17 1976 report in the Globe and Mail, Fincup general manager Dave Draper was to meet with the Ontario Hockey Association executive and the owner of the Brantford Foresters to discuss relocation possibilities. "The Forum is just a bad, bad facility," Draper said in the Globe and Mail. "To continue to operate that facility is financially suicidal." In a meeting between the Fincups and Hamilton City Council, the Fincups needed commitments quickly while the city was hedging. "How long would it take to build a new arena, two, three years?" Draper said to council. "We need something that would alleviate the financial suicide the owners now face if they continue to operate under the present conditions." Then Alderman Ian Stout led the charge to keep the Fincups in Hamilton. "The onus is on the people of Hamilton to have the Fincups stay and we shouldn't expect them to lose money," Stout is quoted as saying in the Hamilton Spectator May 18, 1976. "Seven kids on that team are from Hamilton and that makes it a very locally oriented team." Two days later the OHA executive refused to allow the Brantford move. The owners of the Brantford junior A and junior B clubs were not enthused about the move which would violate OHA territorial rules. The Fincups had also been talking with the Brantford Civic Centre, and had established a working plan with the center to play there. While all the bickering continued throughout the summer, the ancient ice-making equipment at the Forum just wouldn't do its job, and the Fincups moved down the QEW to Saint Catharines to play their 1976-77 season. The team was back in Hamilton for its 1977-78 season, playing at the Mountain Arena, but the bigger issue of a new facility could not be worked out, and the team left for Brantford, to be known as the Brantford Alexanders. The franchise returned to Hamilton as the Steelhawks in 1984, playing at Copps for four seasons before moving again to Niagara Falls in 1988. And the Forum? This built-in-1912 facility had almost reached senior
citizen status of 65, and was torn down, starting in August of 1976.
The property is now an enclave of houses.
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