Wrecking Ball Smashes Sportex
22/10/2008 21:15
Walls tumble town on former city landmark
Jean Chriest started working in the Sportex building in 1965, two years after the Edmonton Exhibition Association opened the low, flat-roofed building on its grounds.
The Sportex was as modern a building as could be found in Edmonton at that time, said Chriest, 81. It was freshly painted and felt brand-new. In the 45 years since, the building has become dated, fraught with technical problems and almost too small for the trade shows that pass through its doors. On Monday, a 182-kilogram steel wrecking ball smacked against the building's south wall, beginning a demolition job that is expected to take six weeks.
Crews have already erected some steel frames that will support a new trade-show venue at Northlands. It is part of a two-year redevelopment project that will add almost 200,000 square feet of new exhibition space. The project's first phase, which includes a building to house offices and one exhibition hall, is set to open Friday.
Funding for the $150-million project has come from the federal and provincial governments, and Northlands.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Wow, I watched and curled many a game in that old barn over the years. RIP, Sportex.