The OHL Arena Guide - Stratford Arena, Stratford Kroehlers

When I first visited William Allman Memorial Arena in early 2004, I fell in love with the building, and it remains to this day my favourite hockey arena in Ontario. It is a perfectly-preserved relic of a bygone age, with steep seating, a high roof, and immaculate maintenance that keeps it feeling young. What was once known as Stratford Arena sits on a tiny plot of land in the heart of downtown Stratford, a stone's throw away from the Avon River. It is constructed of brown brick and has a newer front facade that belies the building's advanced age.

Once inside, it's easy to see what parts of the old arena are original from 1924 and which parts are from the expansion. The entire lobby is newer, cinderblock construction, with the rear wall being the original brickwork. The lobby includes a ticket office and is filled to capacity with photographs, trophies, and other hockey flotsam and jetsam collected over the years. The lobby has its own set of heavy doors that lead into a narrow corridor underneath the seating area that is so small that an adult has to duck in order not to bump his head on the support columns. Fortunately, fans are not subjected to this treatment on game-day, as there are also a pair of staircases that lead up into a top concourse.

The first view of the ice in Stratford is breathtaking. The arena glows brightly with colours. Bright red and blue wooden seats surround the ice surface, polished dark hardwood floors ring the seating area, and most of the bricks and steelwork are painted in a whitewash. Arena signage is mostly hand-painted, signifying each section letter on the back wall of the arena as well as in each corner. Banners and signs hang from the ceiling. The scoreclock is relatively new and functional. The roof sits high above in an barrel arch. Stratford's closest cousin in Ontario is probably Windsor Arena, and while the two arenas aren't exactly the same, they're definitely related in terms of design.

It wasn't until 2025 that I finally bothered to attend a GOJHL game in Stratford, seeing the Warriors take on Lasalle in a first round playoff matchup. The experience felt pretty well indistinguishable from major junior, with the building about half-full. The team has a pretty well-stocked souvenir kiosk in the lobby and the show is run reasonably professionally. I wasn't a fan of the team's continued use of their old Indian head mascot or their playing of the Tomahawk Chop during the game, and the sound system was pretty poor, but otherwise I had no complaints about the experience. The building still functions well, and unlike the remodelled rink in Galt, Stratford still feels as old as it is.

While the OHA has not called Stratford home since the early 1950's, the old arena still stands proudly on the banks of the River Avon. I believe it is Ontario's finest old arena, and attending a GOJHL game in Stratford allows any fan to steep in the tradition of the formative days of junior hockey.