Theaters of Competition: Modernization and the Survival of the National Hockey League’s Original Six

For more than two decades after its inception, the National Hockey League (NHL) experienced the contraction and expansion of franchises as the league extended its control over the major professional hockey market in both the United States and Canada. From its initial membership of four teams in 1917, the NHL increased to as many as 10 teams and extended as far south and west as St. Louis, Missouri before contracting back to the Original Six franchises in 1942. Interestingly, the Original Six played in modern multipurpose arenas constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. The present study seeks to understand the historical factors that influenced the design and construction of those multipurpose arenas and the role of those venues in the persistence of the Original Six. The historical methodology for sport management was applied to study the design and construction of multipurpose arenas between 1924 and 1931. Furthermore, modernization theory was employed to understand and rationalize the intentional actions of sport managers within a burgeoning capitalist socioeconomic setting. Findings suggest that sport managers responded to an expanding economy, emerging middle-manager class, and consumer culture by designing facilities capable of maximizing profits and attracting broad demographic and economic segments, thus assuring the Original Six’s survival