Clinton Arena burned, was rebuilt and won Hockeyville
The 1949 rink burned in 1953 and reopened in 1954. In 2018 it won the Kraft Hockeyville USA grand prize and an NHL preseason game.
By Ruth Callender
Clinton Arena, formally the Edward W. Stanley Recreation Center, was built in 1948 and 1949. On Sept. 11, 1953, it burned down. It was rebuilt in 1954 and has been in use since.
The building is two stories of concrete block in two parts: an entrance block with locker rooms and offices, and the rink. The roof uses a Pennsylvania truss. It seats 2,000, with room for another 300 standing.
From 1954 to 1973 it was home to the Clinton Comets of the Eastern Hockey League. In 1977, parts of the movie “Slap Shot” were filmed there.
Today the rink hosts the Clinton Central School hockey program, Clinton Youth Hockey and the Clinton Figure Skating Club, one of the oldest figure skating clubs in the country. The club started informally in 1948, when the arena was built.
On April 14, 2018, Clinton Arena won the Kraft Hockeyville USA grand prize. That brought $150,000 in rink upgrades and an NHL preseason game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The arena was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Feb. 17, 2010.