Calgary has honored wrestling legend Stu Hart by renaming a major bridge after him.
Hart passed away on October 16, 2003. The patriarch of the Hart family founded Stampede Wrestling in 1948. The Calgary-based promotion ran for more than 30 years. He also trained countless wrestlers in the basement of his home, a famous gym known as The Dungeon.
In some heartwarming news, a highway bridge crossing the Elbow River on westbound Highway 8 will now be called the Stu Hart Memorial Bridge, Alberta officials announced on Wednesday. The ceremony took place under the bridge, just west of Calgary’s city limits. Government leaders and members of the famous Hart family were in attendance.
The $28-million bridge was completed in 2021 as part of Alberta’s Highway 8 twinning and bridge replacement project. The officials and the Hart family announced the new name during a ceremony held under the bridge of west Calgary.
The Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen said, “This bridge is just a short distance from the Hart House, a legendary training grounds where generations of wrestlers learned the ropes. It’s only fitting that we celebrate this permanent reminder of Stu and his family, and their contributions to Alberta.”
Bret Hart says naming a bridge after his father Stu Hart is ‘Symbolic’
WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart also reacted to Calgary honoring his father’s legacy.
“When I think of my dad, I think of someone that’s very strong, solid and sturdy as a rock. In a lot of ways, it’s very symbolic for my father to be honoured with a bridge, because he was a bridge, in many ways, to so many people and so many things, from wrestling to just his roots in Canada.”
Former professional wrestler Dan Kroffat, who trained under Stu Hart in The Dungeon also spoke at the ceremony.
“This bridge is very symbolic of who he was and I think it was an excellent choice, because he was building bridges for us through his whole career, many of us who really didn’t have direction and weren’t sure what we were going to do. He was a remarkably kind and sensitive man he had a great love for his family and he loved the industry he was in.”
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