Red Mile facts for kids
The Red Mile is the name given to a stretch of 17 Avenue SW in Calgary, Alberta, Canada during the Calgary Flames 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run, which ended with a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the finals. It gained worldwide notoriety both for the relative lack of violence while upwards of 55,000 fans celebrated their team's success. The 'Red' originates from the home team colour of the Calgary Flames' jerseys, red, similarly characterized by the 'Sea of Red' seen at many home games in the Saddledome; 'Sea of Red' and 'C of Red' (for the Flames' flaming C) is a play on words.
Electric Avenue
The predecessor to the Red Mile was a bar strip on 11th Avenue S.W. known as Electric Avenue, where thousands of Flames fans celebrated during the 1986 and 1989 playoff runs. Concerns by the City about the violence encouraged by having so many bars in such close proximity ultimately led to the shut down of Electric Avenue in the early 1990s.
2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
2004 marked the first time the Flames qualified for the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs since 1996. The Red Mile's beginnings were relatively humble, and consisted of people driving down the Red Mile honking and waving flags, as people walked the streets cheering and clapping hands. Several thousand fans went to bars along 17th Avenue S.W. to watch the Flames on the road against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round, and also to watch the team play at the nearby Pengrowth Saddledome for home games. When the Flames eliminated the Canucks in the seventh and deciding game by Martin Gelinas' overtime goal, fans flooded the streets in a relatively spontaneous party celebrating the Flames first playoff series victory since the 1989 Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens. The fact that this was spontaneous is a phenomenon in itself; there had been no advertising or other form of publicizing of 17th Avenue as an after-game party strip prior to the playoff run.
As the Flames progressed through the subsequent playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning, the popularity of the Red Mile continued to grow, and along with it the party atmosphere. By the time of the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final against Tampa, the city was expecting over 100,000 people would flood the area if the Flames were to win the Cup. This, however, was not to be as the Lightning defeated the Flames in Game 7, 2–1.
Police presence
The city began closing off 17th Avenue S.W. to all vehicle traffic and enforcing strict parking laws from 15:30 to 00:00 every game day. The police presence included scores of police officers involved in keeping everything under control through patrols down the street, standing in lines along the street, forming circles of officers in intersections, officers on bicycles, a number of police cars, and the police helicopter, HAWC1.
Despite the police presence, there were very few incidents involving police. For example, someone witnessed a drunken fan carrying open alcohol get pushed into a group of police officers, however the police officers simply confiscated the alcohol and then sent the person on their way. The attitude of the police officers seems to discourage people from committing violent acts.
2015 Stanley Cup playoffs
Following a first round series win as the Calgary Flames eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in game 6 of the series at the Scotiabank Saddledome, fans flocked to the Red Mile once again. There was between 10,000 and 12,000 fans on the stretch of 17th Avenue in Calgary. Police in Calgary had limited reports of open alcohol and minor property damage, but overall it was said to have been a peaceful celebration. Staff Sgt. Steve Ellefson of the Calgary Police Service said fans behaved well: “When you have 10 to 12,000 fans out, it just goes to show the class of the Flames fans enjoying a win”.
