In the 1960s, the City of Ottawa was preparing to rebuild the football stadium at Lansdowne Park, on Bank Street at the Rideau Canal.

The City combined plans and the arena, named the Civic Centre, was built together under the north grandstand of the football stadium.

Dominion Bridge was the supplier of the huge steel girders for the arena and stadium's frame, some so large they had to be brought to the site by barge, up the Ottawa River and down the Rideau Canal.

According to Dominion Bridge "the most striking feature of the unique design concept is a giant overhanging roof reaching out 170 degrees from atop eight massive steel A-frames.

[5] The football stadium and arena complex served as the official Canadian Centennial project for the city of Ottawa, as federal government grant money depended on the facility opening within 1967, and construction was rushed to meet the deadline.

Midway through the renovation process at the end of 2013, steel corrosion was discovered by workers and cost an extra $17 million to repair.

The team played before large crowds in the 1960s and 1970s but attendance started to drop in the late '80s and bottomed out after the arrival of the Ottawa Senators in the early 1990s.

In 1998, the team was bought by local businessman Jeff Hunt, and he successfully improved attendance to take advantage of the arena's large capacity.

The Civics were the hastily transplanted Denver Spurs franchise that played only two home games in Ottawa before disbanding.

The arena's unique arrangement of having most of the seats on one side of the ice has been described by Barbara Underhill as making it an ideal venue for figure skating presentations.

However, advised by their friend Brian Orser to put on her old skate boots, Barbara and Paul were propelled onto the ice, onto the podium and into history.

In June 2016, the arena held a MMA event, hosting UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson.

In April 1968, the arena hosted the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, when Pierre Trudeau was named Canadian Prime Minister.