[11] The venue is now in the process of being dismantled, which is expected to take an extended period of time due to the presence of hazardous substances such as lead and asbestos.

[12][13] The Association and others had made proposals for a downtown arena to replace Edmonton Gardens, but referendums on the matter were struck down by voters.

[14][13] In 1997, a proposed sale to Leslie Alexander triggered the clause, resulting in the Edmonton Investors Group (EIG) being formed to purchase the team.

[13] Northlands regained control of the Coliseum, with the Oilers agreeing to pay operational costs and $1 in rent per-year, in exchange for being able to receive revenue from hockey games and designated parking spots at the arena, and being able to sell naming rights.

[21] Northlands said that the old arena would remain open,[22] and a number of concerts and sporting events were still held there even after the Oilers left.

On February 17, 2016, Northlands unveiled plans to convert Northlands Coliseum into a multi-level ice facility,[23][24] with a later proposal calling for a partnership with Hockey Canada to make it a Hockey Canada Centre of Excellence, but it was later discovered that renovating the Coliseum would be more costly than building a new facility.

This made it difficult for the non-profit organization to pay off a loan by the City that was used to fund the 2009 expansion of the Edmonton Expo Centre.

[30] On December 12, 2022, in light of the $1.5 million annual cost to upkeep the empty building in its form since its closure at the end of 2017, and the lack of ability to repurpose the structure, Edmonton City Council voted to demolish the Northlands Coliseum at a cost of $35 million over four years, with no projected start date.

It was one of three NHL arenas (the others being the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and Barclays Center in Brooklyn) seating less than 17,000 fans in its configuration.

When it opened, the capacity was 15,423, but it was increased to 17,490 after the Oilers joined the NHL by adding an extra tier of seating on the side opposite the press box.

The last centre-hung scoreboard, designed by White Way Sign,[34] featured eight message boards at the top and four video screens at the bottom, separated by LED rings.