1949 Arena Opening in Trail

Cominco Arena bears the name of it's founder and builder. Although the most important industry in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia did not pay taxes to the city of Trail until 1971, long before then, Cominco pumped money into facilities that would improve the community it overlooked. The refinery's management formed a "projects society" that saw the company match every dollar donated by its employees towards the building of a new recreational facility slated for completion in 1949. It was in this way that Cominco put up $1.2 million for the hockey rink and then gave it to the people of Trail. The residents of Trail also had a great sense of pride in their new ice palace because of their own financial contributions, but their industrious nature also played a significant part. "People would come down from the plant and wheel dirt, and the bricklayers would brick for nothing." "Almost everything was done on a volunteer basis."

When it was finished, Cominco Arena immediately became the toast of not only the town, but a large section of the province. "When Cominco built the arena , it was second to none. The first five years they averaged 2,750 people a game here. Everybody felt they built it too damn small but the rink was two and a half times bigger than anything else in the interior of B.C.!"

In 1953, a seperate and smaller hockey surface was attached to the Memorial Center and was reserved for the younger players of the city. Like Cominco Arena, it was funded by the Trail District Recreational Projects Society and has come to reflect the self-reliant nature of the population. The tiny rink looks alarmingly like an oversized handball court, with a tremendously high ceiling painted with the same whitewash as its supporting walls. There are no bleachers. The ice is all that counts. It has always been known as the Kids's Rink, and the raw materials processed here over the years have aspired to the lofty ideals its builders had in mind. "Dedicated to Canada's greatest resource... our children," is the message engraved on a bronze plaque by the entrance.

source: TrailSmokeeaters.com