Why are hockey arenas usually called "barns"?

Question

How did that endearment come to be?

Answer 1

It's no doubt a reference to the rural part of the roots of hockey. Go out to the farmlands and prairies of Canada, where hockey was the major winter recreation activity. You'll find towns where the rinks have a seating capacity that about equal to the town population.

The rinks are pretty spartan, built simply. If you saw them from a distance, you'd immediately associate them with the region's other big buildings, barns. So it's pretty natural to pick that up as slang. It's become a term of endearment.

I saw an NHL exhibition game in Kitchener, Ontario, once. It's a classic old building with a few thousand seats. Barn immediately came to mind in a positive way.

Answer 2

This just in! - I just checked and it seems current hockey players in Canada do sometimes call the arenas they play in barns, as a term of endearment. It's just modern day slang I guess, probably also the influence of other sports and globalization. The word barn is used for alot of things that have nothing to do with real barns, as in shoe barn, jazz barn. It's just a good, one syllable word I guess. If these guys grew up with barns, they probably wouldn't use the term, especially not with endearment.

Initial Answer before reading recent articles about junior hockey games:

Hockey arenas are not usually called barns in either the northeast US or Canada. Maybe southerners or westerners call them that, but they aren't exactly from the birthplace of hockey.

They are often called RINKS in Canada and long have been. Hockey wasn't played in barns in times past, but out in the open on frozen ground or ponds. Barns, even in Canada, are filled with stalls, animals, equipment and hay, especially in the winter, so they wouldn't be used for hockey, inspite of people's fondness for the game.

When hockey became organized, towns and cities began to build arenas or community centres or rinks (but not barns) specifically for hockey, figure skating and curling (don't ask). Again, these were/are in towns large and small, not out on the prairie or in the middle of a pasture. Maybe in Saskatchewan or other prairie provinces they call them barns but I doubt it.

The hockey arena or rink is still the center of many a small town in Canada in many ways, which is why they're often called community centres.

That's my take - Good night and good news

Answer 3

Goes WAY back to the second guy saying about how "he never called it a barn". Not sure if it was a Canadian thing or how it got started though. I would say the first guy probably has the best answer so far. Just the way they used to look. I may not refer to it as a barn myself but I know that is quite a common term for them.

Answer 4

When I play hockey and we play in an old rink, our team calls it a barn. Because it looks like one with the round roof, and looks like it should be used to keep wild animals in. However, when we play in a good rink, we look at it in awe and thank the hockey gods for letting us use such a sacred rink. We don't call the new ones barns, just the old bad ones (with terrible ice, puny change rooms, no seats, etc).

Answer 5

Usually what are now hockey arenas especially older arenas were originally barns in farm territory.

Answer 6

Because that is where they first started having indoor arenas, in barns. That is where the term honestly came from.

Answer 7

I think it was the old arenas were shapped like a barn. They are now different shapes but the term stuck

Answer 8

The first responder is right. Moreover, you'll still find some older indoor rinks that are cooled by mother nature with large barn doors that open up to keep the ice frozen.

Answer 9

ive never heard it called a barn and ive been like an insane hockey fanatic since i was lliek 6

Answer 10

Hockey was first played in barns. In canada where it gets really cold, they would flood the insides, the water would freeze and it would make for a great ice rink... IDK makes sense though huh