Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SPORTSPLEX JACKET

Date Range From

1975

Date Range To

1976

Materials

NYLON, POLYESTER

No. Pieces

1

Length

83.3

Width

60.0

Description

GREEN, YELLOW, AND WHITE ATHLETIC JACKET WITH GOLD EMBROIDERED TEXT “CANADA GAMES SPORTSPLEX” ON CHEST. LEFT SLEEVE HAS GREEN EMBROIDERED TEXT “KEN” AND CANADIAN FLAG EMBROIDERED PATCH. RIGHT SLEEVE HAS TWO CIRCULAR PATCHES: “1975 JEUX CANADA GAMES” AND “LETHBRIDGE BRONCO HOCKEY CLUB.” YELLOW POLYESTER LINING, BLACK BRAND-LABEL SEWN INSIDE OF JACKET: “DOUG’S” WITH SIZE TAG “40.” WHITE PAINT IS CHIPPING OFF METAL SNAP FASTNERS, SLIGHT DIRT STAINING AND SOILING ON FRONT AND TOP OF SHOULDERS, FRONT OF JACKET ALONG BOTTOM, AND ALONG BACK OF SLEEVES. THREADS ARE FRAYING ALONG BOTTOM EDGE OF JACKET; RIGHT VENT HAS FRAYED AND SEPARATED AT TOP WITH AN ATTEMPT TO REPAIR. RIGHT COLLAR POINT IS BENT; REST OF JACKET HAS CREASING THROUGHOUT. OVERALL GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

BUSINESS

SPORTS

History

ON APRIL 23, 2024, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN, CURATOR, TYLER STEWART, AND COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT TESS MCNAUGHTEN INTERVIEWED KEN HAMILTON ABOUT HIS DONATION OF HIS ‘SPORTSPLEX’ JACKET. ACCORDING TO A CITY OF LETHBRIDGE ARTICLE RELEASED AUGUST 6, 2024, THE LETHBRIDGE SPORTSPLEX OPENED IN 1974 AS THE ‘CANADA GAMES SPORTSPLEX’, IT WAS LATER RENAMED AND KNOWN AS THE ‘ENMAX CENTRE’ SINCE 2000, AND IN 2024 RENAMED THE ‘VISITLETHBRIDGE.COM ARENA.’ HAMILTON EXPLAINED HOW HE CAME INTO THE JACKET: “IF MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY, I WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND GETTING THE JACKETS… I WAS A GOOD FRIEND WITH DOUG’S (SPORT STORES) KIDS… SO, I DON’T REMEMBER IF THEY HAD WINDBREAKERS, OR SOMETHING BEFORE, BUT… WE WANTED SOMETHING. YOU HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT IDENTIFIED YOU AS STAFF, RIGHT?... AND I SAID, ‘YOU KNOW WHAT? THAT’S THE COLORS OF THE SPORTSPLEX. IT’S THE COLORS OF THE [LETHBRIDGE] BRONCOS. LET’S GET SPECIAL JACKETS MADE.’ AND IT WAS A GOOD IDEA, SO, BETWEEN DOUG AND I, THIS IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH… I HAD MY MOM PUT THOSE PATCHES ON [THE RIGHT SLEEVE].” “…I WENT TO WHOEVER WAS MANAGING THE SPORTSPLEX AT THAT TIME, WHETHER IT WAS BOB BARTLETT, OR WHOEVER, AND PRESENTED THEM THE IDEA. I SAID, ‘I KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET THE JACKETS’… WE HAD TO PAY FOR THEM OURSELVES. THE CITY DIDN’T PROVIDE THEM. WE PAID FOR THEM OURSELVES, UNLIKE TODAY. THE CITY BUYS EVERYBODY EIGHTEEN SETS OF WHATEVER THEY HAVE TO HAVE, BUT THEY SAID, ‘GOOD IDEA, GO AHEAD,’ TO MY MEMORY. I COULD BE OFF, BUT THAT’S THE WAY I REMEMBER IT HAPPENING.” “I THINK IT BECAME A REQUIREMENT, THAT WE HAD TO HAVE SOME WAY OF DISCERNING, OR DISPLAYING OURSELVES AS BEING SEPARATE FROM THE CROWD, RIGHT? SEPARATE FROM THE NORMAL SPECTATORS, BECAUSE HOW ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO GO BACKSTAGE, OR HOW ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO BE ALLOWED UNDERNEATH DURING GAMES, BECAUSE THE OPERATORS MIGHT NOT KNOW ALL OF THE CASUAL STAFF? SO, THERE HAD TO BE SOME WAY TO IDENTIFY US AS STAFF. AND, WHO ELSE WAS GOING TO HAVE A CANADA GAMES SPORTSPLEX JACKET?... WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE – THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THE SPORTSPLEX IN LETHBRIDGE…” HAMILTON EXPLAINED THE PATCHES: “THERE’S A ‘1975 ALBERTA SUNNY SOUTH JEUX CANADA GAMES’ OFFICIAL PATCH, AND THEN A ‘LETHBRIDGE BRONCO HOCKEY CLUB’ OFFICIAL PATCH. AND THEY ARE BOTH ON THE RIGHT SLEEVE. SO, I HAD MY MOM PUT THEM ON. SO, THAT SET ME OUT A LITTLE DIFFERENT. SOME OF THE OTHER GUYS PUT THEM ON, AND SOME DIDN’T, BUT, TO ME, THAT’S THE TWO REASONS WE WERE THERE, SO THEY’RE GOING ON.” HAMILTON COMMENTED EARLIER: “…THE BRONCOS CAME OVER FROM SPEEDY CREEK [SWIFT CURRENT, SASKATCHEWAN], AND WERE SUCCESSFUL, AND THEY HAD A LOT OF EARLY BRONCO’S THAT ENDED UP IN THE NHL. SO, THEY HAD SUCCESS AS A HOCKEY TEAM. THAT BROUGHT THE PRIDE TO LETHBRIDGE AS WELL, AND I THINK THE BRONCOS AT THAT TIME WERE A COMMUNITY-OWNERSHIP GROUP, SO THAT EMPHASIZED COMMUNITY. WHEN YOU EMPHASIZE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY GETS MORE INVOLVED, AND I THINK THE CITY WAS VERY PROUD A) OF GETTING THE CANADA GAMES (OTHER THAN THE SPEED-SKATING RINK DEBACLE) AND MAINTAINING THAT BUILDING... NOBODY ELSE, OUR SIZE OF A CITY HAD A BUILDING LIKE THAT, RIGHT, SO IT WAS A JEWEL IN OUR CROWN, IF YOU WILL!...” BEGINNING HIS WORK AT THE SPORTSPLEX, HAMILTON EXPLAINED: “I HIRED ON THERE AS A STUDENT. THEY EMPLOYED A FULL-TIME STAFF OF OPERATORS THAT WOULD KEEP THE BUILDING. [THE OPERATORS] MANAGED THE FORMALITIES OF KEEPING THE BUILDING GOING, [SUCH AS] THE ZAMBONI, THE ICE-SURFACING, AND STUFF, BUT THEY HIRED CASUAL STAFF, (USUALLY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, [BUT] NOT ALWAYS), WHO WOULD COME IN EVENT NIGHTS AND PREPARE FOR [THE] EVENTS, CLEAN UP AFTER [THE] EVENTS, [AND] HELP OUT IN THAT FASHION. I REMEMBER I WAS HIRED BY THE CITY… I EARNED $3.73 AN HOUR… I [WAS] HIRED ON AFTER THE WINTER GAMES…” “…I THINK, FOR THE WINTER GAMES… [THEY HAD] KIND OF THEIR OWN STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS THAT THEY USED DURING THE OPERATIONS OF THE GAMES, AND, WHEN THE GAMES ENDED, THEY HAD TO START OVER AND HIRE PAID STAFF THAT WOULD COME IN AND RUN THE SPORTSPLEX.” HAMILTON ADDED WHEN HE STARTED: “I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN GRADE ELEVEN, OR TWELVE… SO PROBABLY FIFTEEN. I WASN’T FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL. I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN, SO IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN GRADE ELEVEN… I WAS THERE PROBABLY ONLY TILL I WAS SEVENTEEN… SO, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE YEAR OF ’76, AND PART OF ’75.” “…BECAUSE WE ONLY WORKED EVENT NIGHTS – THIS WASN’T AN EVERY-DAY KIND OF JOB, RIGHT? [FOR EXAMPLE] IF THERE WAS A BRONCOS GAME, WE’D GO IN AFTER, AND CLEAN UP AFTER THE GAME. SOME OF US WORKED DURING THE GAME, BECAUSE THEY HAD A KITCHEN IN THE BASEMENT. SO, WE WOULD RUN FOOD SUPPLIES FROM THE KITCHEN UP TO THE VARIOUS KIOSKS AS NEEDED AND JUST HANG AROUND BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAD ONE OR TWO FULL-TIME OPERATORS ON DURING THE GAMES, BECAUSE THEY RAN THE ZAMBONI, AND THEN THE REST OF US WOULD DO WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE DURING THE GAMES. AND WE’D SET UP FOR CONCERTS [SUCH AS JOHNNY CASH, THE DOOBIE BROTHERS, ANDREW SWEET, AND THE BEE GEES]… I CAN REMEMBER SOME INTERESTING EXPERIENCES AT SOME OF THE CONCERTS… [SUCH AS WHEN] IKE AND TINA TURNER CAME TO TOWN AND MY CREW WAS THERE SETTING UP AND TAKING DOWN AND, APPARENTLY, I IMPRESSED THEM ENOUGH THAT THEIR ROAD MANAGER ASKED ME IF I WANTED A JOB TO GO ON THE ROAD WITH THEM AND BE A ROADIE FOR IKE AND TINA TURNER. AND, I THOUGHT, ‘WOW, THAT SOUNDS KIND OF COOL, BUT I’D ALSO LIKE TO FINISH HIGH SCHOOL.’ YOU KNOW, I DIDN’T LIVE A – I WASN’T A SMOKER OR DRINKER, A PARTIER OR ANYTHING, SO MY IMPRESSION OF GOING ON THE ROAD WITH A ROCK BAND, I WOULD BE THE ‘DIFFERENT’ ONE. FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL, FOR ME (ON A PERSONAL BASIS) WAS MORE IMPORTANT, AND THAT WASN’T MY DREAM. SO, I JUST SAID, ‘THANKS, BUT I’M GOING TO STAY HERE AND GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL’… [AS WELL] WE’D SET UP FOR BASKETBALL GAMES. WE’D LAY THE BASKETBALL FLOOR ON TOP OF THE ICE. THAT WAS ALWAYS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER A PERFECT FIT IN THE END…” HAMILTON MENTIONED: “…WE HAD ‘STAR’ DRESSING ROOMS FOR, LIKE, WHEN THE ICE CAPADES WOULD COME IN… AND DISNEY ON ICE, AND ALL THAT STUFF… AND FOR THE CONCERTS THEY HAD [THE] ‘STAR’ DRESSING ROOMS [AS WELL]…” HAMILTON NOTED, “… AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE, BEING A CANCER SURVIVOR, EVERYTHING COMES TO AN END, RIGHT…I REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR CERTAIN MATERIALS TO BE KEPT…” HAMILTON EXPLAINS: “…I’VE ALWAYS BEEN THE ONE THAT WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER GROUP I WAS AFFILIATED WITH, THAT WE LEFT A MARK…. SO, YEAH, IT WAS A NEAT EXPERIENCE FOR ME TO SAY THAT I WORKED THERE WHEN IT WAS THE SPORTSPLEX. IT ALWAYS TICKED ME OFF WHEN THEY STOPPED CALLING IT THE SPORTSPLEX, BECAUSE I THINK NOT ONLY ME, [AN] ENTIRE GENERATION GREW UP KNOWING IT AS THE SPORTSPLEX STILL REFER TO IT AS THE ‘SPORTSPLEX’, RIGHT? SO, IT WAS A MEMORABLE TIME IN MY LIFE. IT WAS FUN!...” FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO ACCESS THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20240007000

Acquisition Date

2024-04

Collection

Museum

Less detail