From 1920 to 1973 the University of Michigan Coliseum in Ann Arbor was home to the Michigan varsity ice hockey team. Built on a foundation likely poured in 1909 by local contractor Fred Weinberg and first known as the Weinberg Coliseum, this building became the long-time home of the Michigan varsity ice hockey team from 1920 to 1973. Early on the ice depended on the chill winter air, until the University purchased the facility in 1925 and installed an artificial ice system that finally gave the team consistent ice.
Even after a 1949 remodeling the building remained prohibitively small, yet it served as the team’s home for over fifty years and was the site of seven National Championship teams. In 1973 the team moved to the Yost Ice Arena, and the ice was removed for the final time. The Coliseum was recycled as a gymnasium and has been used by various university programs; today it serves as an all-purpose facility for several Michigan sports programs.
Stand here and imagine that steady rhythm of seasons and renovations, the shift from winter air to artificial ice, and the long continuity of sport in these walls. That same brick shell still stands, quietly holding the memory of seven National Championship teams.