A new book chronicles the history surrounding one of Stratford’s oldest attractions, the William Allman Memorial Arena.
100 Years of the Stratford Arena by Ian Denomme is filled to the brim with photos, facts and stories about the historic building.
Denomme said the journey to write the book was a long time coming, and it took 18 months to write.
The arena began as the Classic City Arena, then the Stratford Arena in 1941 and eventually became the William Allman Memorial Arena in 1996.
Denomme says you can feel and see a history that isn’t present in modern day arenas.
“That’s part of what made me want to do this, these arenas don’t exist any more there’s so so few of them,” said Denomme.
Denomme spent time researching at the Stratford-Perth Archives, collecting images, analyzing microfilms, and reading old newspaper clippings. He also conducted dozens of interviews with people for the book as well.
Wayne Gretzky scored his first goal in Stratford, with a photo of the occasion taken by his father, Walter, which is published in the book.
Denomme said it was the only goal Gretzky scored that year.
“Walter joked that if he hadn’t scored that goal in Stratford, he might have quit hockey,” said Denomme.
Denomme is selling the book at the Stratford Warriors games and Stratford Fighting Irish games.
You can also email him at [email protected] to get a copy.
