Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL), and the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The arena opened in 1974, and was later known as Edmonton Coliseum, Skyreach Centre, and Rexall Place, before returning to the Northlands Coliseum name in summer 2016. The arena hosted the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup hockey tournaments, the 1978 Commonwealth Games, seven Stanley Cup finals (Oilers losses in 1983 and 2006, and Oilers victories in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990), many other hockey events, along with other sporting events and major concerts. The final NHL game played at the arena was on April 6, 2016. The building closed on New Year's Day 2018, after ownership of the facility was transferred from Northlands to the City of Edmonton. Northlands had planned to re-develop the arena into a multi-level ice facility, but these plans were scrapped after it was found that renovating the facility would be more costly than building a new one altogether. The venue is now in the process of being dismantled, which is expected to take an extended period of time due to the presence of hazardous substances such as lead and asbestos. Final demolition of the building is not expected to be completed until 2025 at the earliest. History The Coliseum opened in 1974 as a replacement for the aging Edmonton Gardens. While the Edmonton Oilers' ownership group, including Charles Allard, had initially pursued to construct their own arena, they backtracked and partnered with the Edmonton Exhibition Association (EEA, now Northlands)—the non-profit operator of Edmonton Gardens—after they expressed concern that Allard's proposed arena would "greatly impact and damage" the organization. The Association and others had made proposals for a downtown arena to replace Edmonton Gardens, but referendums on the matter were struck down by voters. The 16,000-seat arena used the same architect and plans as Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum. A crane was placed on a circular track to help speed up construction. The final months of construction process in 1974 hit several setbacks, including strikes by steelworkers, cement workers, and elevator workers, and the last batch of 5,000 seats arriving only shortly before its inaugural event—the Oilers' home opener on November 10,