St. Louis, Missouri



St. Louis is the state capital of Missouri, United States.

It has a metro population of over 2,800,000.

Hockey in St. Louis
St Louis hosted one of the first several artificial ice surfaces in North America that opened in 1899. The faciity hosted a four team tournament in conjunction with the 1904 World's Fair that involved teams from Minnesota, Michigan and St. Louis.

The awarding of an NHLexpansion team to St. Louis in 1966 was due to Bill Wirtz, who owned the Chicago Black Hawks and St. Louis Arena, which had been poorly maintained since the 1940's. Wirtz had wanted to unload the arena. No formal application had been made for a team but NHL President Clarence Campbell stated that the league liked the location of St. Louis and that the building was adequate. A 16-man investment group ended up making a formal application for the franchise. Purchase of the arena was put forth as a condition of purchase for the expansion team. The arena ended up needing several million dollars worth of renovations and was expanded from 12,000  to 15,000 seats.

The city hosted the 2007 Frozen Four at the Scottrade Center

Teams

 * Heartland Eagles (USHL, 2003-2004) suspend operations for 1 year, then fold
 * Spirits of St. Louis (Continental Hockey League, 1973-1974) renamed St. Louis Saints
 * St. Louis Bandits (NAHL, (2006-2012) inactive for 2012-2013 season
 * St. Louis Blues (NHL, 1967-present)
 * St. Louis Braves
 * 1) (Eastern Professional Hockey League, 1963-1963) join Central Professional Hockey League when league is disbanded
 * 2) Central Professional Hockey League, 1963-1967) moved when city gets NHL team, became Dallas Black Hawks
 * St. Louis Chiefs (Continental Hockey League,1973-1974)
 * St. Louis Eagles (NHL, 1934-35) team purchased by league and players dispersed
 * St. Louis Flyers
 * 1) (American Hockey Association, 1928-1942) join AHL for 1945-1946 season
 * 2) (AHL, 1944-1953) ceased operations
 * St. Louis Frontenacs
 * 1) (Great Lakes Junior Hockey League, 2010-2012) join Minnesota Junior Hockey League when league disbands as ice hockey league
 * 2) (Minnesota Junior Hockey League, 2012-2015) joined USPHL-Midwest as St. Louis Storm
 * St. Louis Jr. Blues
 * 1) (Central States Hockey League, 1998-2010) league renamed NA3HL
 * 2) (NA3HL, 2010-Present)
 * St. Louis Lightning (Minnesota Junior Hockey League, (2004-2008) became Maple Grove, MN based Minnesota Wildcats
 * St. Louis Pepsi (Continental Hockey League, 1972-1973)
 * St. Louis Rockets (Continental Hockey League, 1972-1973)
 * St. Louis Saints (Continental Hockey League, 1974-1976)
 * St. Louis Sting (NAHL, 1996-2000) became Springfield Sting
 * St. Louis Storm (United States Premier Hockey League-Midwest, 2015-Present)
 * Toledo-St. Louis Mercurys (IHL, 1959-1960) stop playing in St. Louis, revert to Toledo name

Arenas

 * St. Louis Arena (1929-1994) demolished February 27, 1999, known as Checkerdome 1977-1983
 * St. Louis Mills public rink, practice facility for St. Louis Blues
 * Scottrade Center (October 8, 1994-Present) known as Kiel Center (1994-2000) and Savvis Center (2000-2006)
 * St. Louis Convention and Music Hall (1897-1907)
 * St.Louis Ice Palace
 * St. Louis Coliseum (1907-
 * St.Louis Winter Garden
 * Kennedy Recreation Complex
 * Tilles Park Rink
 * Willmore Park Rink
 * Lindenwood Park Rink
 * Mt. Pleasant Park Rink
 * Steinberg Memorial Ice Rink
 * Fairground Park Rink
 * North County Recreation Center
 * Francis Park Rink
 * Tandy Park Rink
 * All American Sports Complex
 * FSI Shark Tank
 * Fenton Forum
 * Hardee's Ice Plex
 * St. Peters Rec Plex
 * Creve Coeur Ice Arena
 * Webster Ice Rink
 * Queeny Park
 * Affton Ice Arena

Players

 * Chris Butler
 * Pat LaFontaine
 * Mike McKenna
 * Patrick Maroon
 * John Ramage
 * Joe Vitale
 * Ben Bishop
 * Paul Stastny