A building whose walls ooze a tale of a dynasty past is set to be demolished.

The City of Edmonton has set a timeline for when the demolition of Northlands Coliseum will begin: Summer 2026.

Its demolition will take around two years, according to a city report cited by Global News, with its $35-million price tag having been earmarked in the budget. But there’s hope for the site of the building that once saw Wayne Gretzky and co. build a dynasty, as the Province of Alberta has allocated $55-million for demolition of the building, so long as the city spends $35-million to repurpose the site.

There’s been talk for half a decade about a transit centre being built there, something Ward Métis councillor Ashley Salvador told Global News said she’s hopeful for.

Oilersnation visited the long-defunct building in February 2023 on a media tour, where Lovey Grewal, project lead with the Edmonton Exhibition Lands Redevelopment Project, spoke of what else they hope to build in the area.

“This area calls for what we’re calling an urban transit village,” he said. “We would envision an urban plaza for gathering and using the transportation system, as well as mixed and high-density residential and mixed-use development.”

Funding for the demolition is also tied to a $250-million agreement with the Oilers Entertainment Group, City of Edmonton and the Province for infrastructure projects in the new event park and village planned for the downtown Ice District.

The Coliseum, which was the last NHL arena to have the player benches on the same side as the TV cameras, has been closed since 2018, costing the city over $1-million annually to maintain.

It’s last game hosting the Oilers was on April 6th, 2016, when they beat the visiting Vancouver Canucks 6-2 as Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winning goal.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.