Yellowknife (Nov 03/04) - Yellowknife's original home to senior mens hockey, community events and big-name concerts like Stompin' Tom and BB King has been reduced to rubble.

Scheduled to come down last spring after being condemned by the fire marshall three years ago, the Gerry Murphy Arena was demolished Saturday.

"It's hard to see it come down because it was quite historic and it was part of Yellowknife for many years," said Steve Loutitt, manager safety and security for the Yellowknife Airport.

"It had some real small-town character."

Home to full-contact hockey teams like the Con Cougars and Molson Indians in its early days, the arena was used mainly for less-competitive recreation after the mid-1980s, explained Howard McKay, president of the Yellowknife minor hockey association.

"I enjoyed coaching the kids there because the people could get right up to the action," McKay said, describing the rink's lack of glass along the boards.

$1.2-1.6 million

The anticipated costs to refurbish the building fell in the $1.2-1.6 million range, Mayor Gord Van Tighem explained, prompting the city to replace it with the new Multiplex building.

As well as an Olympic and a regular-sized pad of ice, the Multiplex has gymnastics facilities and floor space for indoor sports.

Ideas for the post-arena Gerry Murphy site were heard at a public meeting in September.

Proposals ranged from a French cultural centre, to a new skate park to a community centre to extension to the current city hall.

"The main thing I'd like to see is some sort of community centre that will add to the vibrancy of the city," explained Jan Fullerton, president of the Aurora Arts Society. The society wants an artist-run centre for the site.

The city's planning and lands department collected the input from the meeting to make recommendations to council, the mayor explained.

"The only decision that's been made so far is that it will be retained for public use," Van Tighem said.

The mayor hopes for a final decision before Christmas.

"It's hard to see it go. It did sort of grab you going by," said McKay. "Noticing that thing that had been there for years was gone."