Rumor: NHL arena to be named after Wayne Gretzky!

The National Hockey League's most iconic name may soon adorn the building where he built his legacy.

With the Edmonton Oilers recently moving their franchise into the newly constructed Rogers Place the former home of the Oilers, Northlands Arena, is soon to be reopened for public use and the Mayor of Edmonton has big plans according to Julia Parrish of CTV News.

From the CTV News report:

The former home base for the Edmonton Oilers has had a number of different names over the years, from the Coliseum, to Skyreach Centre and Rexall Place, before returning to its roots when the NHL team left – now, Mayor Don Iveson is floating the idea of honouring Wayne Gretzky.

[pub]

“As a centre for hockey and sports excellence into the future, I kind of like to think of it as the Gretzky Centre,” Iveson said in a year-end interview with CTV News. “But we’ll see how it turns out.”

It's hard to argue, it is after all in many ways the house that Wayne Gretzky built while also being the house that helped build the legend that is Wayne Gretzky, and it would be an extremely fitting name and a terrific honor for the former Oilers forward. It's not official yet though and we'll likely know early next year if the city plans to move forward with the name.