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When I moved to Estevan back in 2000, there were three buildings I became acquainted with in a hurry: my residence of the day on Westview Place, the former Lifestyles building on Kensington Avenue and the Civic Auditorium.

The first two were for obvious reasons.

But I knew I was going to spend a lot of time at the Civic Auditorium, watching the Estevan Bruins and other local hockey teams play.

I found out in a hurry that the Civic was built in 1957, back when the Bruins were the Saskatchewan affiliate for the Boston Bruins. It was as close to the old Boston Garden that I would ever get.

But the desire to have a mini-Garden made it feel like a relic by the time the year 2000 rolled around, with its low-hanging roof, narrow concourses and small ice surface. The ice surface was pretty cool, actually, but there were frequent stoppages in play because a puck would hit the roof.

It was a 43-year-old arena at the time, but it looked and felt like it was 60 years old. And even back in 2000, there were many people clamouring for a replacement.

But it was our arena. Yes, it might have been old and outdated, but it still carried an attachment for most in the community.

It also wasn鈥檛 just a hockey arena. It was the building where the high school graduation ceremony was held. It was the building that hosted community events. It was the building where seniors gathered to walk around the track and socialize.

And, of course, it was a place where hockey was played. It was a place where kids became teammates and friends. It was a place where championships were won. And yes, it was a place where hearts were broken on and possibly off the ice.

I still remember the first game I watched in the Civic. It was a Friday night preseason game against the Yorkton Terriers. Bromhead鈥檚 Lonny Forrester, a rookie for that Bruins team, scored a breath-taking goal. And the Bruins beat Yorkton 6-4.

The Bruins didn鈥檛 win many games that year, and they didn鈥檛 win a lot over the next few years. But there were still lots of great memories, particularly in 2004-05, when they were the top-ranked team in the country at Christmas.

And yes, I have fond memories of interviews conducted underneath the rink, in those narrow hallways and in the cramped Bruins office.

Most of my memories are tied to work, because it was a place I worked. Most people have a deeper, more personal connection to the rink.

The future of the Civic has been questioned ever since Affinity Place opened in 2011. There was an expectation that it would close, or be converted into a field house. Such buildings are becoming more and more popular in Saskatchewan. But people saw the benefits of having three arenas, and so the Civic continued to create memories as a hockey arena.

But its future was cast in serious doubt when it was closed last November due to structural issues.听 There was a push to save the arena, and some made well-reasoned arguments. And it appeared that the arena might get another lease on life after city council voted to reopen the arena for the rest of this season, as long as the necessary insurance came through.

Those hopes were dashed this week when the insurance company said it wouldn鈥檛 insure the rink. In fact, they would only insure the rink until the end of the month, as long as the Civic remained closed.

It was a pretty damning statement, and was probably indicative of the condition that the arena gradually fell into.

You can argue the Civic wasn鈥檛 well-maintained, particularly after Affinity Place opened up and the Civic was no longer the main arena in town. But the critics do have to remember that you don鈥檛 have many 60-year-old arenas out there. And those that are 60 are likely in their final years.

It will be a very sad day when the demolition equipment arrives and the Civic is torn down. But it鈥檚 a day we knew was coming eventually.

It just would have been nice if it would have happened later, rather than sooner.