FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000. History Hamilton was left without a large ice hockey venue after the Barton Street Arena was demolished in 1977, and even that arena had a small seating capacity by modern standards. Construction on the new site was started in 1983 and completed two years later at a cost of $33.5 million, with an additional $2.3 million spent on a parking garage. The project was overseen by Hamiltonian Joseph Pigott. The arena was originally named Copps Coliseum after long-time mayor Victor Copps, the patriarch of a Hamilton political family that includes his daughter, former Member of Parliament of Canada and Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario Sheila Copps, and wife, Geraldine, who was a long-time councillor. The arena's first scoreboard was purchased from the Winnipeg Arena for $214,000. That original Day Signs/Naden scoreboard, built in Toronto, was replaced in the early-1990s by a centre-hung scoreboard with an electronic message centre on each side, which, in return was replaced by the current scoreboard, which was built in Hamilton by Media Resources, featuring a LED video board on each side. The arena has hosted many teams and events over the years. The Hamilton Steelhawks of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) began play at the arena in 1985. The 1986 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were held in Southern Ontario, with Copps Coliseum used as the primary venue. In a decisive game, the undefeated Soviet Union handed Canada its first loss, 4–1. Copps was the primary host for the 1987 Canada Cup, and the site of the famous Gretzky to Lemieux goal that beat the Soviets 6–5 in the final. The Dukes of Hamilton replaced the Steelhawks as the city's OHL team and played in Copps Coliseum from 1989 to 1991. The arena hosted the 1990 Memorial Cup and set the single game attendance record, on May 13, 1990, with 17,383 spectators watching the Oshawa Generals defeat the Kitchener Rangers, in the final, 4–3 in double overtime on a Bill Armstrong goal. The venue hosted a number of games in the 1991 Canada Cup, including the finals, when Canada defeated the United States. The first WWF Royal Rumble, which was shown on the USA Network, was held in