|
St. John's Fog Devils Arena Name: Mile One Stadium |
 |
| Mile One Stadium |
|
| What's the Arena Like? |
|
Well, it's official - the Devils are moving to the mainland. Verdun Auditorium, to be exact. It's tough seeing a team I feel like I saw start from scratch move away after only three seasons, but I don't blame the Dobbins for doing so. I'm leaving the writeup as is for now, and next season I'll write an elegy for a team that never quite found its place in an insular Newfoundland sports culture.
Easily the most isolated major city in Canada, the Newfoundland capital of St. John's is a unique place that I was proud to call my home for a year in 2005-06. Nestled in rolling mountains around a natural ice-free harbour, the city has a culture and a feeling all its own, from the colourful clapboard row houses on the edge of downtown to the fishing boats anchored near Fort Amherst. In a hockey sense, St. John's was granted the AHL in 1991 during the league's aggressive expansion to Atlantic Canada, and in spite of the ramshackle nature of the old Memorial Stadium, the city and the island both took pride in being host to the second-best professional league in North America. Later on, as the AHL began its exodus away from the East Coast and the Q moved in, St. John's was the last stubborn holdout. The Baby Leafs were still supported passionately, and there was a feeling among the people of the city of "We'd better support this, or else we're never getting it back if it ever leaves." Yet, in spite of building the best arena in Eastern Canada for the team, the Leafs packed up shop in 2005 anyway, as the costs of operating a team so isolated from the rest of the league were building up, and MLSE thought they could make a go of the AHL in the RICOH Coliseum in downtown Toronto. The Fog Devils were born over that summer as a replacement, and debuted in September 2005, moving right into Mile One Stadium and seemingly passing the Leafs in the night. About Mile One itself - Mile One Stadium is a new building located beside St. John's monstrous concrete brutalist City Hall. Outside the arena is the marker from where all distance points in Canada are measured, hence the name, Mile One Stadium. It's a new building with postmodernist architecture in steel and red and tan brick, and is quite attractive with its gigantic marquee sign. The arena is also a short walk away from the legendary George Street, where there are more pubs per kilometre than anywhere else in North America. Mile One is right on the edge of St. John's lively and colourful downtown, and also is a short distance from St. John's harbour and the Atlantic Ocean. The arena has one main entrance where there are a series of ticket booths, and once you get fully inside you find yourself in a spacious concourse with a war memorial in front of you. The concourse stretches 360 degrees around the building, and is lined with the usual concessions and such. The team store is also near the front door, and they sell some wonderful devil-based souvenirs, including giant foam fingers that, instead of the traditional "number one" gesture, are done in the "rock on" salute you see at concerts. Brilliant. Once you enter into the seating bowl, a modern, somewhat faceless new building stares back at you. It's very similar to the OHL building in Mississauga, with about 6000 maroon seats in a steeply-raked pattern. There are suites and a restaurant stretching around the top of the building, and the press box hangs above the seats on one side. The press box is named for Bob Cole, the legendary Hockey Night in Canada announcer, who was born and raised in St. John's and still lives in nearby Topsail. Once the game gets going, Mile One quickly elevates itself above Mississauga - it's probably the best new mid-range arena I've been to. The scoreboard features a full video board and is used well. Promotions don't distract from the game. The sound system is excellent without being ear-shatteringly loud. Music selection is great, a combination of traditional hockey songs, 1990's chart-toppers (they played the Refreshments one game!), and Newfoundland shanties. There is a pub along one side of the building, called Caps after the old St. John's Capitals hockey team, which features a fair amount of Newfoundland hockey history on display. Atmosphere, that elusive quality in so many new buildings, is terrific as well. St. John's hockey fans are loud and passionate and cheer as well as any in the CHL. The main flaw at Mile One is one that is fixable, and indeed, may well be fixed by now. The group that owns Mile One and the group that owns the Fog Devils were involved in a well-publicized dispute over rent and a number of other things in the off-season before the first year, and as a result, the Mile One people didn't really do anything to prepare for the Q's arrival. All of the arena signage and such still had the blue Baby Leafs logo on it, and there were displays around the arena showing great moments in St John's Maple Leaf history. The team store was still seemingly called "Leafwear" even though the sign has been covered up. Even the signs at the ticket window still have that blue Leaf on them. Things have improved since the pre-season, when it really felt like the Fog Devils were borrowing the building for the night and had to return it in good condition, but the ghosts of the AHL still have a hold on Mile One and it will take more time before the QMJHL can really settle in. I'm told that a lot of the Fog Devils' promotions and other things are more or less identical to those used by the Leafs, but the team is working on changing that. I left Newfoundland in August of 2006 and haven't been back since, so I don't know how well the team has done to make the building their own. I am hoping that the people of St. John's have began to take to the Q. Attendance hasn't exactly been top-class at Mile One since the team moved in, and there is a palpable feeling of "first we had the AHL, and now we have to put up with you" among some of the people at the games. Brad Dobbin's marketing team has done a commendable job of getting the team into the community, but as of when I left, it seemed like they still had an uphill fight in front of them. At least they don't have to worry about the building itself - If Mile One Stadium were moved into the OHL, it would easily be one of the top five arenas in the league. I spent a solid year living on Prince Philip Drive in St. John's and hiking down to games downtown in all weather. After the previous year in London, in which I was planted smack dab in the middle of a giant bandwagon that careened through a 31-game unbeaten streak, the greatest regular season in junior hockey history, the OHL title and the Memorial Cup, to then switch to following the Fog Devils the next year felt like starting over. I was the one of the only seasoned junior hockey fans in the crowd, among the only people who understood how great the on-ice product was. It felt fitting at the time - I followed the Knights for 18 years before I got to see them win, went out on top, and then started again with a new team. The Rock is still in my blood, and I want to go back more than I can tell you. Newfoundland has a habit of hooking outsiders and making them fall in love with the place. I am now more than a year removed from the Fog Devils, but I still check up on them, keep in touch with the message boards, and dream about going back to Mile One someday to find a passionate full house cheering on the team. But I digress. Mile One is easily one of the best buildings in the CHL, both in terms of facilities and atmosphere (even when it's half-empty), and hopefully someday the team, city and building will come together and create the perfect storm of support that will cement the Devils in town for generations to come. |
| Future Developments |
|
They renamed Mile One Stadium in 2006 to Mile One Centre. They took a name that spoke of the poetry and mystery of the East Coast and made it generic. I'm letting people know this so that people will stop emailing me to tell me, but I'm not happy about it. And why? Because it's a really fucking stupid change. |
How To Get There |
|
From the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy. 1): Exit at Portugal Cove Road and proceed south. Follow it down the hill until the Queen's Road. Turn right. Queen's Road will turn into New Gower Street, and the arena is on your right. From Pitts Memorial Drive (Hwy. 2): Stay on Pitts until it ends at the edge of downtown. Pitts turns into New Gower Street. Mile One is ahead on your left. There is no parking on-site. City Hall next door runs a garage which is used extensively during the games; the Convention Centre across the street also has a large parking garage. There is a fee for both lots. |
| Admission Prices |
|
Sides: $16 Ends: $15 Children, Students and Seniors (ends only): $12 |
| Inside Mile One Stadium |
|
| Franchise History |
| The Fog Devils began as an expansion franchise in 2005-06. |
| Retired Numbers |
|
12 Scott Brophy |
| Local Rivals |
|
The closest QMJHL city to St. John's is Sydney (Cape Breton), which is a day and a half away on the ground - truly, there is nowhere "local". The team is too new to have really developed any major rivalries. Some bad blood has developed with Lewiston, and expansion cousins Saint John are also natural rivals, but it is still too early to really say that any team is a major rival yet. |
Feedback |
If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me at  and I'll update the guide. |
|
Copyright © Kevin Jordan
2002-08. |