The WHL Arena Guide - Nicholas Sheran Arena, Lethbridge Hurricanes

I first stopped off in Lethbridge in 2018 to see the Enmax Centre while on an NHL trip. The Hurricanes had played at that arena since the team's founding, and the former Lethbridge Broncos also played there. At that time, I had no reason to think I'd ever need to come back to Lethbridge to see a former WHL arena, but then the city hosted the 2019 World Curling Championships, and the Hurricanes were evicted for their home games in the first round of the playoffs. With no other suitable arena anywhere in the city, the team played two games at Nicholas Sheran Arena on the west side of town, which meant I someday had to come back for reasons other than finally seeing the Hurricanes play.

As of this writing I still haven't seen a Canes game, but I passed through Lethbridge again in 2022 and checked out Nicholas Sheran Arena. It's a brown brick building near the University campus, opening in 1982 and with a public pool and community centre attached. I tried multiple doors - all locked - before finding one that was open and going inside. I am not much for urban exploration and was overly conscious of the fact I was probably trespassing when I ran into a city employee. I explained what I was doing there, and shockingly, he couldn't have been nicer or more welcoming. I was told I had free rein of the building for as long as I wanted, so I headed upstairs to take some photos.

The arena is about what you'd expect from a community rink with seating. All the seats are on one side; about 1,200 maroon seats pushing back eight rows from the ice. On the other three sides are just bare walls. Truthfully, the arena's not much to look at, but if nothing else, it's nice to know that the CHL still has the ability to throw up random, oddball arenas here and there even in the present day.