For all ten of their seasons, the Edmonton Rush called Rexall Place home. The historic arena — a fixture of big-league sport in the city for decades — gave professional box lacrosse a genuine major-venue stage in Alberta's capital. This page remembers what game nights there were like.
A Major-League Stage
Playing in a full-size, big-league arena mattered. It signalled that the Rush were a serious professional operation, and it gave the indoor game the acoustics and atmosphere it thrives on. When the building filled and the transition offence got rolling, Rexall Place could get genuinely loud. For a young franchise trying to prove that professional lacrosse belonged in Edmonton, sharing a marquee arena with the city's biggest sporting tenants was a statement in itself.
Game-Night Atmosphere
A Rush night was a full production: fast box lacrosse, mascots Chopper and Slush working the stands, the Crush keeping the energy up, and family-friendly promotions throughout. The enclosed arena bowl concentrated the noise and kept fans close to the action — exactly the environment the sport is built for. Kids leaned over the boards for autographs, and the between-play entertainment kept the building buzzing from opening faceoff to final whistle.
The Arena Question
Ironically, the building was also part of the franchise's departure. As Edmonton prepared to open a new downtown arena, the Rush were unable to secure the long-term terms and branding arrangements they needed, which factored into the decision to relocate after 2015. The venue that had been their home for a decade became part of the story of their move — a story told in full on our history and legacy pages.
Remembered Fondly
For Rush fans, Rexall Place is inseparable from the team's identity: the site of every home win across a decade, and of the championship-calibre lacrosse that defined the club's final seasons. Long after the team left, the memory of green-and-black nights in that old barn remains the geographic heart of this archive.