Adaptive Reuse of Sport Stadiums and Collective Memories: Rexall Place as a Site for the Continuation of the Oilers Dynasty and Civic Pride

Sports stadiums work to shape the identity of cities and reflect their cultural attitudes. From the Luzhniki Sports Complex’s material representation of Soviet Russia’s political leanings and ideologies to the Houston Astrodome’s display of technological advancement, stadia architecture has strong connections to regional zeitgeists. In this paper, I explain the importance of stadia architecture and how it is embedded in the collective memories of sports fans and citizens. As well, I explain how stadia architecture carries political and social consequences. Adaptive reuse or demolition of abandoned stadia also carries social and political consequences as stadia have the ability to embody the social history and civic imagination of their cities. I then present the case of Edmonton's Rexall Place arena, and provide an account of why it is important to repurpose the structure as a place for hockey. Ultimately Edmonton's collective memories and identity are held within the cement walls of Rexall Place, and the demolition of the structure would be detrimental to the hockey-centric civic identity and history.


Introduction
The construction of Edmonton's Rexall Place Stadium coincides with the 'age of the stadium ' beginning in 1976' beginning in (Trumpbour, 2007. Professional sports experienced an increase in popularity, and sports teams began to become an integral part of many cities' identities. Along with the sports teams increasing importance to cities, the sites where they played also became more important. The architectural styling, the technology utilized, and the ideologies embedded within stadium construction became increasingly present as the 'age of the stadium' emerged. In this essay, I will present stadiums as culturally significant objects in order illuminate their importance in society. I will then describe how the act of demolition and the adaptive reuse of buildings can be seen as social, and how it transcends the material nature of objects. I will conclude by applying the aspects of collective memory and identity to present Edmonton's Rexall Place as an important building that must be adaptively reused in order to continue the preservation of collective identity and memory in the city of Edmonton.

Stadiums and Architecture
Stadiums act to shape the identity of cities and reflect cultural attitudes. Katzer emphasizes the role that sports stadia played in developing nationalism and displaying international success in the post-war era, " [Stadia] were supposed to symbolize the superiority of the culture which created them" (Katzer, 2010). If stadia are looked at as representations of architectural ingenuity, it is surely not a stretch to see how the construction of sports stadium can be used to position nations on a global scale. Unique, iconic, or technologically advanced buildings can serve as objects that represent progress and dominance. Global sports mega-events provided, and still provide, the opportunity for nations to compete for superiority using material 2 Invoke: Sociology Undergraduate Journal Vol. 2 (2017) objects. These objects can take the form of aquatic centers, housing facilities, transportation, and stadia.
The Houston Astrodome was opened in 1975 and included artificial turf and "the most elaborate scoreboard ever built" (Trumpbour, 2007). Some deemed the Astrodome to be the eighth wonder of the world and positioned Houston as a renowned "high-tech city" (Trumpbour, 2007). Sports stadia do indeed provide opportunities for nations to be known on the international stage. Not only do stadia act to display technological advancement and global dominance, they can be material representations of ideologies and political positions. Katzer (2010) uses the example of the Luzhniki Sports Complex in Moscow to demonstrate that sports stadiums embody "political ambitions", "programmatic claims", and "ideological framework[s]" along with "aesthetic considerations" (250). In this case, Luzhniki Sports Complex is iconic of the construction. In addition to national pride garnered from stadium architecture, Trumpbour (2007) argues that stadia are also symbols of civic pride and have been so since around the 1950's. Stadiums gradually moved from wood buildings to steel and concrete structures in the late 1890's, and a short while later in the 1920's, the public funding of stadium construction was introduced (15). By the 1950's public funding and stadium construction was commonplace and stadia were deemed to be beneficial for cities. The media had framed stadium construction as a form of civic pride, and municipalities and stadia were inexplicably intertwined (20). Many stadia construction projects today utilize some form of government subsidy, and as professional sports teams have become more integral to cities' identities stadia have also increased in importance (32). So not only are stadiums symbols of national pride, or cultural ideology, they have become objects of civic pride, and this is apparent through the public funding that has taken place for nearly a century. Stadia are significant material objects that represent distinct social histories.

Demolition and Adaptive Reuse
Unfortunately, demolition of stadia is often studied only in an economic context. Many economists ask questions regarding the efficiency, environmental impact, and economic impacts of the demolition of buildings and stadia (Bullen and Love, 2010). Social aspects regarding the demolition of structures are often not discussed, and instead, topics regarding adaptive reuse of structures are more commonly discussed (Horne, 2011;Barthel, 1996;Dickinson, 1997). Though no, or very little, academic literature exists that specifically focuses on the social dimension of stadia demolition, one thing that is quite apparent through research of news articles is the polemic stances that the public take on demolition. On one hand, many see old stadia as redundant, rundown and impeding development and growth, and are worthy of complete destruction (Staples, 2016;Press, 2016). Some, however, view old stadia as in need of preservation due to their historical importance ("Rosenblatt Demolition Begins"). Some even go so far as to say that the demolition of stadiums would be a "failure of civic imagination" (Longman, 2016). Though the disparity of views regarding stadium demolition is worthy of further analysis, there is very little existing literature, and the purpose of this paper is not to look at narratives surrounding stadium demolition and repurposing. Instead, I will focus on the importance of repurposing or, as Bullen (2007)  The desire to preserve social history is a commonality within much of the literature on active reuse and repurpose of buildings (Stickl, 2013;Jones, 2006;Horne, 2011;Dickinson, 1997;Barthel, 1996). Historic sites can act as "gateway[s] to the past" (Dickinson, 1997) for nations, cities, and cultures. They are remnants of past cultural practices, moments that changed society, and are vital to the collective memories and identities of societies. The collective memory of urban society is "composed of recollections tied to spatial representations reflecting the way it conceives and preserves itself" (Marcel and Mucchielli, 2010). Historical sites "anchor collective memories" (Barthel, 1996) with tangible and material confirmation of the past.
Material architecture and the space that it occupies serve to maintain the collective memory of societies. The stadia previously mentioned reflect these ideas quite clearly. Bush Stadium was preserved because it remained a "beloved fixture" (Bartolacci, 2016) in Indianapolis since 1931.
Las Arenas in Barcelona was a bullfighting stadium that was a "cherished civic structure" (Bartolacci, 2016) that represented regional identity. And the Pyramid Arena was at one point the third largest pyramid in the world and is still an iconic "'symbol of Memphis'" (Bartolacci, 2016). These buildings have gone under adaptive reuse because aspects of them are integral to the collective memory and identity of cities. As noted in the Stadiums and Architecture section, sports stadiums are often representations of the civic pride or civic identity of cities, and this solidifies the stadia as important objects within collective memory and identity. In addition to the civic pride and collective identity tied to sports stadia, it should be noted that people often find structures tied to collective memory important to preserve because the very act of repurposing or preserving buildings is a political act that carries broad social implications (Jones, 2006). The function of the building certainly serves certain groups of people, and the continued material presence of the repurposed building stands to communicate a desire to preserve past memories or identities.

Rexall Place
Hockey was present in the city of Edmonton long before the Edmonton Oilers' Using previously discussed topics such as nationalism in sports architecture and collective memory, I will elaborate on why it is important to the city of Edmonton for Rexall Place to continue to exist as a place for hockey. Jones (2006) notes that architecture should be seen as "a field of cultural contestation" (550). The new downtown arena in Edmonton is certainly a site of cultural contestation. Its 'oil drop' design and the inclusion of shopping centers and hotels-which reflect Alberta's energy economy and consumerist qualities-juxtapose the nearby social services and the occupancy of the area by Edmonton's homeless population. Rexall Place, however, is not architecturally iconic, nor is it at a culturally contested site at face value. Its design seems to be typical of any normal stadium-beige, cement, circular, and relatively boring. However, the decision to demolish or repurpose the stadium is certainly an issue of cultural contestation. As noted in the previous section, the repurposing of a building is a political act and serves specific people. The demolition of Rexall Place may very well have appeared to be an attack on the deeply embedded sporting history of the Oilers and the collective identity of Edmonton. Deciding to repurpose Rexall is a political act insofar as the municipal government and private organizations decided to preserve the material representation of local collective memories instead of erasing them.
Even though the architecture of Rexall Place is not abundantly unique, the space occupied by Rexall Place is certainly a space for sport. This is seen by the hockey figures attached to a pedestrian walkway leading to the stadium, the WHL hockey team Oil Kings' building adjacent to the stadium, the road named after former Oiler legend Wayne Gretzky, and the 15 feet statue of Gretzky himself directly in front of Rexall Place. By keeping Rexall Place a space for sport, collective memories will be successfully maintained. Choosing to preserve the stadium is choosing what kind of history to preserve, and therefore shapes the collective identity of the city. The adaptive repurposing of Rexall Place into a multi-rink facility also allows Rexall Place to be host mega-events of varying sorts. Large amateur hockey tournaments will be able to take place in the repurposed building, and Edmonton will have an opportunity to become "the hockey tournament capital of Canada" (Ramsay, 2016). A large, unique facility such as the proposed multi-rink facility will provide Edmonton with a building that can boost "global promotion and branding" (Horne, 2011). And on a civic scale, memories, culture, and identity will be preserved much like in the cases of Bush Stadium, Las Arenas, and Pyramid Arena.
Invoke: Sociology Undergraduate Journal Vol. 2 (2017) Dickinson (1997) realized the importance of "bodily participation in the evocation of the memory" (4). Though the material presence of Rexall Place serves as a way to maintain collective memories, it is the act of playing hockey or sitting in the stands that can elicit the continuation of collective memory. Keeping Rexall Place as a space for hockey solidifies the importance of hockey in Edmonton's collective identity.

Conclusion
Stadia are important buildings within the context of city environments. They can be symbols of technological advancement, political ideology, and civic pride. Their construction and adaptive reuse are political acts that carry many social implications. By preserving stadia, the collective memory and identity of a city are maintained within the material structures.
Additionally, there is a specific focus on repurposing historical structures and a definite lack of research done on the subject of stadia demolition and the social consequences. Rexall Place poses a compelling example of a material structure with many aspects of civic collective memory and identity embedded within it. The proposed adaptive reuse of Rexall Place into a multi-rink facility is necessary in order for the hockey-oriented identity of Edmonton to persist. It is in the physical acts of sitting in the stands, skating on the rinks, and visually seeing Rexall Place that Edmontonians will engage in the perpetuation of Edmonton's collective identity.