Lethbridge celebrates 50 years of WHL hockey and the Lethbridge Sportsplex

Lethbridge, Alta.- Western Hockey League hockey as we know it wouldn’t exist in Lethbridge had it not been for the 1975 Canada Winter Games.

With Lethbridge winning hosting rights for the bi-annual sporting festival, ground broke on a brand-new multisport venue that would come to be known as the Lethbridge Sportsplex.

That sparkling new building meant opportunity for a then-ailing Swift Current Broncos team.

The franchise moved to Lethbridge ahead of the 1974-75 season- something Archie Henderson still remembers well.

“They were still bolting the seats in right up to game time to accommodate an absolute sellout crowd,” Henderson recalled. “We played the Regina Pats that night, the defending Memorial Cup champions, and we beat them on home ice. People were parking their cars in the dirt and in the mud as there was no asphalt in the parking lot. Those people supported us the entire year as we made the playoffs in our inaugural season.”

Fifty years later, nearly 4,000 fans packed the newly-renamed VisitLethbridge.com Arena to celebrate 50 years of the Sportsplex and WHL hockey in Alberta’s windy city.

Dozens of members of the original 1974-75 Broncos squad and 1987-99 Lethbridge Hurricanes teams were in attendance to cheer the Central Division-leading Hurricanes on to a 5-3 comeback win against the Red Deer Rebels.

What. A. Weekend.

Looking back at yesterday as we wrap up celebrations of 50 Years of WHL in Lethbridge, and the 50th Anniversary of the Canada Winter Games Sportsplex (@VL_Arena). pic.twitter.com/UMchtVsl8k

— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) October 28, 2024

“I learned a lot of lessons in that dressing room on how to be committed to a sport, dedication, commitment, and it’s kind of neat that we’re all gathered here together,” Jerry Bancks, an original Lethbridge Broncos member, said. “We know of the many successes of the numerous guys in that room that went on to prominent NHL careers- players, coaches, general managers, managers, scouts, or whatever it may be- but it’s neat to have this get-together here to see what other people did with their lives and how much spending time in that room helped them in their endeavors, whether it was in the business world, farming, myself in the education world.”

Some of those prominent alumni from the the Broncos’ 12-season run in Lethbridge include all six Sutter brothers, Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, current Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff and Medicine Hat Tigers General Manager and Head Coach Willie Desjardins.

Hear from Willie Desjardins about his favourite memories playing. Stay tuned for more memories and special announcements this week for the 50th Anniversary of the Sportsplex and 50 years of WHL in Lethbridge this Saturday, the 26th, against Red Deer!

Tickets are still available! pic.twitter.com/qhFbYX9JSU

— Lethbridge Hurricanes (@WHLHurricanes) October 26, 2024

And for Bancks, the connection to the team only grew deeper when his son, Carter, went on to captain the Hurricanes in the 2009-10 season.

“One of the proudest things that I can say that came out of that room was my son, who went on to be a four-year Lethbridge Hurricane,” Bancks added. “Fans that had been around for years often came up to me and said, ‘Boy, your son, Carter, plays a little bit like a Sutter. So I guess that kind of came out of that room.”

The Lethbridge Broncos would lift the WHL’s President’s Cup (now called the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 1982-83, while the Hurricanes would claim their first league championship in 1997.

The building itself has hosted famous folk like Wayne Gretzky, Elton John, Buzz Aldrin and Chris Hadfield- and even a country music-era Taylor Swift.

It’s also in the running to play host to the 2026 Memorial Cup.

With past and present team members gathered on the ice for one night, they all hope there is more glory to come for the team and the city.