Copps Coliseum was the original name of the sports and entertainment arena in Hamilton, Ontario, that opened in 1985 and was later renamed FirstOntario Centre and then TD Coliseum. The venue’s visual identity was created by Canadian graphic designer Burton Kramer, whose identity projects included Copps Coliseum alongside the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CIBC, the Royal Ontario Museum and other major Canadian institutions.[1]
Design and History
Burton Kramer, a New York-born designer who became a Canadian citizen, founded Kramer Design Associates Ltd in 1967 and served as its president and creative director. His biography on the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) website lists Copps Coliseum among his identity projects, confirming his role in creating the arena’s visual identity.[1] Kramer’s work for Copps Coliseum is also referenced in the 1987 edition of Canadian Who’s Who, which lists the arena among his design commissions.[2]
The arena opened in 1985 as Copps Coliseum, named after Victor K. Copps, Hamilton’s mayor during the 1960s and 1970s.[3] The original Copps Coliseum signage remained on the building until 2014, when the arena was officially renamed FirstOntario Centre following a naming rights agreement. Workers took down the Copps Coliseum sign piece by piece, and a new FirstOntario Centre sign was installed with the tagline “in honour of Victor K. Copps.”[3]
Kramer’s design work for Copps Coliseum is documented in Burton Kramer Identities: A Half Century of Graphic Design, 1958-2008, a monograph edited by Greg Durrell and published in 2011.[4] The book surveys Kramer’s career and includes his identity projects for Canadian cultural and civic institutions.
Meaning and Symbolism
Kramer’s broader design philosophy is documented through his other well-known work, such as his 1974 CBC logo, which used radiating geometric forms to suggest broadcasting in all directions.[5] However, no official source in the available research documents the specific symbolic meaning or design intent behind the Copps Coliseum mark itself. The visual details of the original Copps Coliseum logo are not described in the sources reviewed, and the mark is no longer in active use following the 2014 renaming.
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