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Brainerd Civic and Gold Medal Arenas are located at 503 Jackson Sreet <br /> in Brainerd, MN. Erected in 1977 with one sheet of ice, the Brainerd <br /> Civic Arena is home to the Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association <br /> (BAHA) & the history rich boys and girls Warriors high school hockey <br /> teams. The idea to erect an indoor arena came started in 1973 between <br /> two ambitious gentleman named Bob Olson and Art Donlinger whom <br /> were playing cards at the local Brainerd Lions Club. Olson, whom had <br /> recently moved into the Brainerd community 2 years prior in 1971, <br /> "wanted to get the funding to build an arena, as my 4 boys all played <br /> hockey in Owatonna and then in Brainerd after we moved there" said <br /> Bob Olson. Art, a local business man said to Bob "If you are so <br /> ambitiuous to get this done, and spearhead the efforts, I will donate the <br /> first $50,000 to get it going". And so it began, over cards at the <br /> Lions. Bob a local business owner himself at Hardware Hank in <br /> Brainerd partnered with Dr. Jack Echternacht - a local dentist - in 1971 <br /> and formed the Brainerd Arena Civic Center Inc. - which was a non <br /> cooperative funding drive that any donations made to arena efforts were <br /> tax deductable. The funding efforts started in 1973 by Art Donlingers <br /> "nest egg", per Bob Olson - which generated over $1 Million dollars <br /> between 1973-1975. Enough monies were collected for construction to <br /> begin in the fall of 1976, and was completed in time for the beginning of <br /> the Warrior boys hockey season by the fall of 1977. The first season of <br /> operation Brainerd Civic Arena had natural ice within the rink. In 1978 <br /> the $350,000 ice plant was purchased and installed along with concrete <br /> flooring. Other notable additions to the 37+ year old building came in <br /> 1981-1982 when the upstairs heated glass mezzanine and concession <br /> area were added. The most notable addition to Brainerd Civic Arena <br /> came in 1999 with the addition of Gold Medal Arena (GMA) to meet the <br /> demands of the growing Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association. Gold <br /> Medal Arena was aptly named so for it's unique history rich dashers that <br /> were purchased from Lake Placid N.Y. - home of the Miracle on Ice <br /> hockey game & site of the 1980 Olympics where the USA hockey team <br /> captured the Gold Medal. The boards were purchased and shipped to <br /> Brainerd in 1998 before the arena opened, but as history reveals, the <br /> boards turned out to be a bad purchase as they were in "farely rough <br />